INTEL: Recruiting update for 5-star Ron Holland

Ron Holland spent part of his summer in Spain, winning his second gold medal playing with USA Basketball. Through the u17 Junior National Team’s seven game, seven win run in the FIBA Championships, Holland finished second on the team in scoring (11.1) and third in rebounds (6.6).

With the FIBA championships, Holland ranked No. 9 in the 2023 On3 Consensus and missed most of July. However, during the first three Nike EYBL Circuit sessions, Holland averaged 10.1 points with a 47.4 effective field goal percentage.

The On3 database has Holland taking one senior year official visit to Texas on September 3. He has junior year official visits listed for UCLA (5/12), Arkansas (6/11), Kentucky (6/12), and Memphis (10/5/21).

Holland’s recruitment

Ron Holland has been a top ten recruit, across the board, since entering high school. He was active taking official visits as a junior, and he has continued taking mostly unofficial visits, except for one official to Texas, as a senior.

Sources close to this recruitment, pretty universally, say that Texas has done the best job recruiting Holland to this point. They have shown that he is a priority and laid out a path that aligns with the outlook of Holland’s vision.

The question around this recruitment is when will Holland sign? Not commit, but sign his binding scholarship papers. The early signing period starts on November 9 and will last through November 16. Intel suggests Texas is pushing for this, and the program has some quiet confidence it could happen.

However, what we have not mentioned, is do not count out Arkansas. Head Coach Eric Musselman has shown – ref. Holland’s Duncanville (TX) High teammate last season, Anthony Black – that if wants a player, he can get him no matter the time crunch. Gonzaga did a great job with Black last year, but he ended up in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Holland has built a relationship with Arkansas, and he has familiarity with the program.

While this recruitment is not over, and there is still some time frame uncertainty, sources indicate there is some optimism coming out of Austin, with the hope of Holland signing early. That optimism, however, is cautious with Arkansas looming.

One last scenario

I’m sure you’ve noticed we have centered a lot of this piece around Ron Holland’s signing time frame. There have been mixed messages put out in that regard. However, let’s go through a scenario we heard from a source that could happen.

There have been ongoing conversations between Holland and the G-League. Sources have long said that Holland would like to see an offer come from the G-League. Not necessarily that he is a lock to take it, but would like to see what that looks like. Sources also indicate that there is a general thought from the Holland camp that an offer will be coming.

Looking through years past, many of the G-League’s contract offers do not come until later in the basketball season, well after the first signing period. This could cause Holland to either wait through the first signing period altogether or to commit to a program and simply not sign his papers.

Sources close to the situation, as of pressing publish on this piece, say to watch for Texas. Timing will be everything here, and there are some specific deadlines and steps of action in play. Watch closely as these twists and turns unfold.

In Holland’s words

“I don’t have an exact commitment date set, but I feel like I should have a good idea where I’m going by the end of October,” Holland told On3.

“I want to go to a place that will allow me to be me but also help me reach my max potential. The style of play will be big for me. I don’t want to go into a situation where they will have to re-teach me how to play on a team with guys who have already been playing that way. I like to play in transition, play fast, but have plays and quick hitters in the half court.”