Mike Holmes done at Coastal Carolina

Mike Holmes' departure from the Coastal Carolina basketball team is a big story that is not being talked about enough.

Holmes, a senior, joined the Chanticleers in December after being kicked off the South Carolina team last November. He made an immediate impact, averaging 14.0 ppg and 8.9 rpg, in his first seven games; about what you would expect from a kid that was a double digit scorer in the SEC. The Chanticleers were 7-0 in those games.

But on January 10th, he was suspended indefinitely by head coach Cliff Ellis, and according to Jeff Goodman, Holmes was eventually booted from the team:

However, sources told FOXSports.com that Holmes, who was also booted out of South Carolina last year, was involved in an altercation with the team’s leading scorer, Desmond Holloway.

The 6-foot-3 Holloway, averaging 18.8 points per game, missed the victory against Winthrop last week and returned to score 15 in a win against Presbyterian on Saturday.

Holloway wore a protective mask on his face in the game as a result from an injury suffered in the altercation with Holmes.

Now, keep in mind, Coastal Carolina is currently sitting at 8-0 in the Big South. They are a team that many people expect to make life miserable for some two or three seed come March, and a big reason for that was that CCU had a high-major post presence.

Will they still be the same kind of threat without Holmes?

Making the tournament may also be a bit more problematic. They already own a road win over Liberty, who is 8-1 in second place in the conference, and the rematch is set for February 3rd. That should give us a feel for where this team is now.