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Aden Holloway talks transfer from Auburn to Alabama

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Perhaps no transfer portal move was as eyebrow-raising in college basketball this offseason as guard Aden Holloway‘s move from Auburn to in-state archrival Alabama. He’s the first basketball player in Auburn’s history to transfer to the Crimson Tide.

Holloway, a former 5-star recruit, played for Auburn last season as a freshman, and didn’t necessarily have the impact that some expected him to. He averaged 7.3 points per game while struggling from the field, shooting less than 32 percent from the floor and right at 30 percent from three.

He entered the transfer portal looking for a fresh start, and found one about 150 miles to the west in Tuscaloosa. In a recent interview with the NCAA’s Andy Katz, Holloway explained the reasonings behind his move.

“I feel like the fit at Alabama is more catered to my game,” Holloway said. “Auburn was a great program, a great winning program, it just wasn’t a fit for my game. I have love for the people over there, I just had to go here. I feel like this was the best place for me to get better.”

Holloway went deeper, explaining the specific aspect’s of Alabama’s NBA-style program, led by head coach Nate Oats, that he feels is a better fit for him.

“I just like the playstyle,” Holloway said. “It’s a lot of ball screens, short roll, kick out to shooters. A lot of race 26, get the ball to the 3-point line with 26 seconds on the shot clock. It’s just a lot of like, fast paced, dynamic offense. That’s how I like to play.”

Holloway has immense talent, and from everything Oats has said in the lead-up to this season, has been showcasing it in offseason practice. Oats has called Holloway one of the best shooters on the team, and fans got a glimpse of it as he went head-to-head with and almost beat star guard Mark Sears in a 3-point contest last week.

“I’m just gonna bring what I can bring to the team, and that’s 110 percent effort every day, try my hardest every single day. In terms of what I can actually do, I can bring some shooting to the team, some facilitating, good on-ball defense, just being a great point guard and a great teammate.”

The move will make for an extremely interesting dynamic in that already-fierce rivalry between Alabama and Auburn, one that has risen among some of the best rivalries in the sport in recent years with the success of the two program under Oats and Auburn coach Bruce Pearl.

Holloway’s meetings with his former school will surely be full of emotion, especially when he returns to Neville Arena on March 8.

“It’s gonna be crazy of course, I mean, it’s crazy regardless,” Holloway said. “But it’ll be the same. Nothing new.”

Fans will get to see Holloway for the first time this Friday as Alabama takes on Wake Forest in a charity exhibition in Birmingham. Alabama opens the season officially on Nov. 4, taking on UNC Asheville in Coleman Coliseum.

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