Will Kentucky make a run at one of the hottest names in high school basketball recruiting?
Texas high school basketball standout Ron Holland has been in the five-star discussion in his 2023 class for as long as recruiting analysts have been ranking that group.
But despite a clear track record of winning basketball, a high motor on the court, and an enviable amount of athleticism, there were still plenty of questions regarding the 6-foot-9 forward coming into his junior season.
So far, he’s delivered in a big way.
As a sophomore, Holland averaged a double-double and was a key cog on Duncanville High’s state championship team. In July, he helped lead his Nike-affiliated travel squad reach the title game of the Peach Jam U16 division. And a few weeks after that, he led the USA Basketball team in scoring and rebounding, helping them win a FIBA Americas U16 gold medal.
Holland helped those teams win with his grit and energy, but scouts and recruiting analysts wanted to see more from his game, specifically a higher level of basketball skill.
“He was always known as this play-hard guy who was motored-up on the glass, could guard ball screens, very athletic — a physical slasher type,” Texas-based 247Sports analyst Brandon Jenkins told the Herald-Leader. “But the reason that you have to look at his potential is because of the improvements he’s made in his jumper. He used to have a funky release his freshman and sophomore year. Now it’s pure. It looks pretty coming off his hands, and he has a lot of confidence in it.”
That emerging jump shot, which Jenkins says has completely changed for the better in a matter of months, is leading to increased buzz surrounding Holland’s status as one of the top overall recruits in the 2023 class. It’s also led to some preliminary interest from Kentucky.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if they come calling (even more),” Jenkins said of the Cats.
A few weeks ago, Jenkins ranked Holland as the No. 1 junior in Texas, which has been responsible for as much high-end talent as any other state in recent years. In a post on 247Sports this week, Jenkins floated Holland — currently ranked No. 15 nationally — as a possible No. 1 player in the 2023 class, if the improvement keeps up.
The next step will be building on his basketball IQ and feel for the game, making the right decisions with the ball, and learning where and when to use that evolving jumper.
“If he can combine that motor with the skill set that he’s improved on — and just continue to add to what he’s already put into his repertoire — I don’t see why he can’t contend for that No. 1 spot,” Jenkins said. “He’s shown that he can put in the work to be a better player and be the best version of himself.”
Holland has plenty of others in the recruiting world singing his praises.
Rivals.com national analyst Rob Cassidy also pointed to that jump shot in an early-season post, singling out Holland as a player who had “evolved in a major way.” Just last week, Cassidy picked Holland — currently ranked No. 24 overall by that site — as a prospect who would rise with the next rankings update.
ESPN went ahead and elevated Holland to the No. 4 spot in its 2023 rankings update Wednesday, and The Season Ticket — a relatively new national recruiting site — actually ranked Holland in the No. 1 overall spot over longtime top player DJ Wagner this month.
Recruiting Ron Holland
As exciting as Holland’s progress has been over the past few months, it appears there’s still plenty of room for continued growth. And that has some of the nation’s top programs interested.
Still just 16 years old, Holland is young for his class. He won’t turn 17 until July and will be an 18-year-old for the entirety of his freshman season of college basketball. His Duncanville High team is led by David Peavy, who earned MaxPreps.com national coach of the year honors last season and has this year’s deep-and-talented squad ranked No. 4 in ESPN’s national high school rankings.
“He has the right people around him, and he’s mature for his age,” Jenkins said. “So it’s just on him — buying into coaching and continuing to get better. … Winning is a habit to him. And I think he can bring those qualities to college.”
Jenkins mentioned Memphis as the program that has been the “most active” in Holland’s recruitment to this point. The Tigers hosted him for an official visit — his first — in October.
Houston has also been pursuing him heavily, while Arkansas, Oregon, Texas and UCLA have all extended scholarship offers and picked up some early buzz around his recruitment.
Kentucky has been keeping tabs on him, and the Herald-Leader was told earlier in the week that the Wildcats would have a legitimate shot at Holland’s commitment if they end up pursuing.
UK has obviously had ample success recruiting the state of Texas over the past several cycles, and the program’s ties there have only increased with the 2020 hire of assistant coach Jai Lucas, who helped the Cats land five-star post player Daimion Collins in last year’s class and top-10 recruit Cason Wallace for next season.
In college, Holland is looking like a hybrid forward who could play minutes at the “3” spot but will be better suited as a mismatch “4” as he continues to hone his perimeter skills.
“He has a quick little first step, and he continues to add to his bag — from a skill-level perspective — with his jump shot and ball-handling,” Jenkins said. “I think he can do a lot of damage with his motor playing the ‘4.’ He brings a lot of energy.”
That type of talent seems perfectly suited for what John Calipari might have coming in with the 2023 class. UK is expected to ultimately land a few highly touted guards and wings, but the Cats have yet to make many big moves with “4s” and “5s” in the junior class. Holland will be a player to keep an eye on there.
“I think the kid has a good idea of what has taken place in the past 10 years or so, and he wants that for himself,” Jenkins said. “So I definitely could see Kentucky being in the mix, if they were to extend the offer and actively recruit him.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
