The Sam Houston State alum put on a thrilling display of power basketball in his first performance in front of a home crowd against Sydney at the Snakepit a fortnight ago.

His 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks were punctuated by several highlight reel dunks as the Hawks beat their fiercest rivals 95-85.

After watching their team get bullied out of the play-offs last season, the thought of watching the 6 foot 11’ centre tangle with the NBL’s abundance of heavyweights is a mouth-watering one for Hawks fans. It’s something Holyfield says he discussed at length with coach Rob Beveridge before committing to the Hawks this season.

“Bevo did talk to me about it and he explained that’s why he went after me,” Holyfield said.

“That’s what I bring to this team, a little toughness inside. I’m going to be on the glass every night and I’m going to defend hard every night. That’s just the way I play. I don’t know how to play any other way.

“I’m not going to shoot from beyond the arc, I play down low, I play hard I play tough, I love to throw it down. That’s why they brought me here, to be a force provide some low post scoring. 

“We run the floor, we get shots up and I love that. Bevo’s been great, the team’s been great, it’s a real brotherhood and I’m really excited for this year.”

While his performance against the Kings has certainly got the fans excited, Holyfield is keeping it well in perspective and, with season tip-off still three weeks away. 

“I was happy with [the Kings game] but it’s only early I’m not satisfied at all,” Holyfield said.

“I know I still have a lot of work to do and we still have a lot of work to do. At the end of the day it’s not about me it’s about the team. It’s about trying to win a championship and playing for my teammates and that’s what I did the other night.”

Holyfield said he’s also using every opportunity to work with All-NBL first team centre, and arguably the best all-round big-man in the league, AJ Ogilvy day-in day-out at practice.

“Most of the time with AJ I’m working against him at practice and I’m just trying to learn everything I can from him,” Holyfield said.

“Even though I’m going at him every day I’m still trying to learn because he’s been here, he’s done it before.

“If you’re a competitor you want to play against the best and AJ’s one of the best in this league and I’m fortunate he plays on the same team I do. There’s a lot of guys on this team like Oscar Foreman I feel like I can learn from and that’s exciting for me.”

Holyfield took time out from the hard work on Wednesday to meet one of the Hawks’ most passionate fans and KidzWish Foundation Ambassador Leo Lagana (pictured above).

Leo is hoping to raise funds for a purpose-built KidzWish Place with the Hawks coming on board with the foundation as its official charity partner for the 2016/17 season. 

They will combine to host the ‘Dine with a Hawk’ fundraising dinner at The Lagoon restaurant on October 18 with tickets available from kidzwish.org.au