Texas 5-star PF signee Ron Holland requests NLI release from Longhorns

Duncanville (Texas) High five-star recruit Ron Holland has requested a release from his National Letter of Intent with Texas, per his Instagram.

“I want to take this time to thank head coach RT (Rodney Terry) and the entire Texas coaching staff for their consideration, I would also like to thank the Longhorn Nation for all their love and support,” Holland wrote on Twitter. “While this has been a difficult process, I have decided to de commit from University of Texas and re-open my recruitment. Texas will still be one of my top schools of choice.”

The 6-foot-8 Holland chose the Longhorns over Arkansas and UCLA. He also received offers from Kentucky, Memphis, Oregon, Kansas, Auburn, Houston, and others. He was Texas’ first commitment in the 2023 class.

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— _ronhoops (@ron2kholland) April 28, 2023

However, he committed and signed with the Longhorns prior to head coach Chris Beard being dismissed in January following an alleged domestic violence incident. Assistant coach Rodney Terry, who led the program to Elite Eight in March, was named the Longhorns’ permanent head coach earlier this month.

At the time, Holland reaffirmed his commitment to the program and publicly lauded the hiring.

“I’m really excited about that,” Holland told On3’s Joe Tipton. “Just knowing how hard he had those guys playing and he really deserves that job. Just to see him reach that goal and for them to give him the opportunity to continue to coach that team, it’s a really good feeling for me because I get to stay committed to that team. Me and AJ Johnson. We get to go try get us a national championship next year.”

Texas also lost a commitment from Johnson, the No. 18 overall player in the class, earlier this month. He opted to sign with the Australian National Basketball League.

Holland is the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Scouting Summary

“Ron Holland has good positional size, but it is how hard he plays – on both ends – that gets people talking. Holland has performed at the highest levels, with Team USA, on Nike’s EYBL circuit, and at Duncanville High. Coming into his junior season, the question mark was the skill set; he has shown some improvement. While the jump shot is still below average, he can use the dribble to get downhill, and he’s developed confidence in his pull-up jumper. Holland is great in transition; he plays above the rim and has the upside to be an excellent defender – both on and off the ball. Production and winning that is what he has done for a while. — Jamie Shaw, On3 national recruiting analyst