Former Coastal Carolina basketball standout Holloway taking game overseas

After formally withdrawing from the NBA Draft earlier this week, former Coastal Carolina basketball standout Desmond Holloway said Thursday that he plans to launch his professional career overseas in either China or Ukraine.

Holloway, who led the Big South Conference in scoring as a junior this past season, was suspended for the Chanticleers' final seven games as the NCAA looked into whether he received impermissible benefits. He then opted to sign with an agent in March and forgo his final year of eligibility with hopes of catching on with an NBA team.

That part of the plan will have to wait, though.

Speaking over the phone, Holloway said after receiving feedback from professional scouts, he's decided his best course is to play overseas for a season before re-entering the NBA Draft next year.

"My agent was telling me that I was going to be late second round, probably even undrafted," Holloway said. "I'd have to go [through] free agency, go that route and go to the summer Vegas league. That's what they wanted me to do. ... After he told me second round, I just didn't want to do it."

He said he has offers from a team in China and a team in Ukraine and expects to sign a professional contract next month, most likely with the team from China.

"I'm more excited than nervous," he said. "It will help me develop more into an NBA athlete, which I'm trying to get to."

Holloway, who averaged a team-high 18.5 points and 6.9 rebounds in his lone season with Coastal Carolina, has been working out with a trainer back home in Indianapolis, Ind. He did not attend any NBA workouts, he said, but received feedback based on his game tape.

"They were just telling me I have to get bigger," Holloway said. "And ball-handling was the biggest thing. They wanted me to play the point guard position, 1 and 2, more on the ball."

If he does indeed head to China, Holloway said his season would start in August.

As for his decision to leave Coastal Carolina with the NCAA looking into his eligibility, he has no regrets.

"It was way too much stuff going on beside basketball," he said. "All I wanted to do was play basketball with Coastal, and way too much stuff came along with that. It was overwhelming stuff too, stuff way over me."

Holloway told The Sun News in March that the NCAA investigation stemmed from a shirt he received - for which he said he repaid the value - and whether he was given any money as a recruit. He denied receiving any money, and he said Thursday he hasn't spoken to the NCAA since he left campus and hasn't talked to anyone at Coastal about the status of the investigation.

"I'm glad it's behind me," he said. "I've moved on to bigger and way better stuff."

Although he didn't get the feedback he was hoping for in terms of his NBA draft stock , he believes he's well-positioned to pursue his goals.

"Right now, I think I'm at a good spot in my career," he said. "I know what I have to do, what I need to do, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be successful."