Expect a Kentucky scholarship offer to come soon for this five-star power forward from Texas
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UK basketball recruiting updates
Ben Roberts and Cameron Drummond of the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com are producing several stories and videos analyzing last weekend’s Nike EYBL basketball recruiting showcase in Louisville. Click below to access all of their coverage this week.
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While Ron Holland doesn’t yet have a scholarship offer from Kentucky, the five-star power forward from Texas expects one to arrive soon.
That’s because Holland — a 6-foot-8 power forward who is rated as a five-star recruit and the No. 9 player in the class of 2023 by the 247Sports Composite — will be taking his official visit to Kentucky on June 13.
“I have a good feeling the offer is going to come when I go on the visit,” Holland said last weekend.
His visit to Kentucky will come after Holland announced a list of his top eight options after high school in May.
In no order, Holland announced a final list of Arkansas, Auburn, Houston, Kentucky, Memphis, Texas, UCLA and the G-League Ignite professional pathway.
“I looked at their résumés, how many dudes they’ve got in the NBA,” Holland said of what went into selecting those options on his final list.
Holland, who is from Texas and plays for Duncanville High School, was in Louisville last weekend for the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) session held at the Kentucky Expo Center.
Holland, who is known for his high motor, averaged 10.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game over the five games he played in Louisville with his EYBL team, Drive Nation.
College coaches were not permitted to attend the Nike EYBL Louisville session since it didn’t fall under one of the NCAA’s approved evaluation periods.
How would Holland describe himself as a player?
“I feel like I’m a position-less player. I can get the job done,” Holland said. “I can run the one, two, three, four, five. I can guard the one, two, three, four, five. I bring energy to the table. I do the little things that nobody else likes to do. . . . I just keep it simple.”
“He’s one of those guys that will pretty much always rebound. You always know you’re going to get that out of him,” added 247Sports analyst Travis Branham about Holland. “He’s going to run the floor, contest and defend.”
While Holland admits he still needs to improve some mental aspects of his game — specifically not letting one bad play affect future plays — he’s already proven to be a part of a championship-winning culture.
With Duncanville, Holland has won three consecutive Class 6A state championships.
Following the 2021-22 high school season, Holland was named by MaxPreps as the National Junior of the Year and a member of the Junior All-America team. He averaged 15.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and two steals per game for Duncanville.
Other areas of improvement Holland envisions for himself are with ball handling and shot consistency.
“He used to have a funky release his freshman and sophomore year,” Texas-based 247Sports analyst Brandon Jenkins previously told the Herald-Leader about Holland’s jump shot. “Now it’s pure. It looks pretty coming off his hands, and he has a lot of confidence in it.”
“He’s now able to make shots both off the catch and off the bounce, which has been a big development in his game,” said Branham, who considers Holland a mismatch “4” in college basketball. “He can get a little shot happy and force the issue and take some really tough jumpers, whether it’s step-backs or just contested pull-ups, but obviously those shots will be limited at the college level.”
When it comes to college visits, Kentucky isn’t the only school to get Holland on campus this spring and summer.
He visited UCLA on May 13. He will visit Arkansas on June 9, just four days before he comes to Lexington.
He also plans to visit Texas later this summer.
What is Holland — who doesn’t turn 17 until July — looking for on these visits?
“One thing I look for (on visits) is treatment, how they take care of players when they get injured. That’s big,” Holland said. “I look for player development. I want to win a national championship, but at the same time I want to get ready so I can improve my game when I go to the (NBA).”
Holland, who won a gold medal last summer with the United States at the FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship while leading the USA in scoring and rebounding, hasn’t yet set a college commitment date.
When the time comes to make his college choice, Holland will do so with an eye toward the next level.
“(That) they can help me reach my goal and reach my dreams,” Holland said of what matters in his college decision. “That’s all I’m looking for in a program.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
