Ron Holland signs with G League Ignite: Top player in class 2023 turns pro after being fired from Texas

Photo of author

By Webdesk



G League Ignite’s big Wednesday kicked off with the addition of five-star prospect Matas Buzelis and continued with another big splash less than an hour later: fellow five-star class of 2023 standout Ron Holland, who told 247Sports that he’s taking a professional route just weeks later release from Texas. The No. 1 player in the cycle, according to 247Sports, is the program’s top-rated signer since Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga in 2020.

What looked like a potentially soft incoming class for G League Ignite in 2023/24 has quickly grown into a powerful team full of prospects, now led by Holland who, like Buzelis, will be a contender for the number 1 pick in the 2024 NBA draft. The class also includes top-30 prospect Dink Pate and international prospect Thierry Darlan.

“Really, when I went to visit, I saw that this was the professional life I was looking for,” said Holland. “I’ve been able to see what my life could look like and what better place to prepare for that than the G League. I know they’re going to prepare me for the NBA, for the group and everything. I know they have won’t let me down and I’m not going to let them down.”

Holland initially committed to the University of Texas in November 2022 and signed with the school a week later, but the suspension and subsequent ouster of coach Chris Beard changed circumstances for the program and for Holland, which came out of its National Letter of Intent in April. That decision came days after new Texas coach Rodney Terry signed Virginia transfer Kadin Shedrick, foreshadowing that Holland might not be in the program’s future. Days later, the Horns added UTEP transfer Ze’Rik Onyema to further cement that thinking.

The six-foot-tall, 195-pound Holland is a combination attacker who brings athleticism and shooting to the G League Ignite. He has the raw ability to be one of the best drafted players on the program since its inception in 2020. From Adam Finkelstein, 247Sports’ Director of Scouting:

He is very athletic, not only vertically, but also in the way he covers the floor, thrives on the open track, can move sideways and his speed. While the term versatile defender is easily used these days, Holland actually epitomizes it. Given that, along with his size and shooting potential, he has a chance to evolve into the modern big wing that is so coveted at the highest level. His overall skills need to continue to develop, especially as a handler where he can be guilty of trying too much, but there is a foundation to build on, even as a passer. He has to find a balance between battling with a head start and letting his emotions get the better of him, but when he plays with the bike he showed at FIBA ​​this summer, he has a huge impact.

G League Ignite has produced three top-10 picks in two previous design cycles and is expected to produce another in the coming weeks with Scoot Henderson. The additions of Holland and Buzelis on the same day position the league to potentially double that number in the same cycle in 2024; Babacar Sane, Thierry, Buzelis, Holland and Pate are all in the mix to potentially play their way into the top-10 selections next summer.





Source link

Share via
Copy link