Ron Holland is "looking for a lot" on upcoming Kentucky visit
Ron Holland has finally locked in an official visit to Kentucky after months of questions surrounding the Wildcats’ level of interest. He’ll take a trip to Lexington the weekend of June 13-15, which he announced through social media earlier this week.
Considered the No. 3 overall prospect in the class of 2023 according to the On3 Consensus, the 6-foot-8, 195-pound forward has never been to the UK campus before. With that in mind, he has a lot to learn on his visit, and he’s looking forward to hearing what Kentucky has to offer.
“I’m looking for a lot. I’m looking for the vibes around there, the facilities,” Holland told KSR on Saturday. “I ain’t ever been there. I feel like there’s a whole lot I can look into.”
Holland has been hearing consistently from Kentucky assistant coach Chin Coleman over the last few weeks. Coach Coleman is the one who arranged the visit and told Holland to come check out what the program has to offer.
“Me and Coach Chin, we’re building a great relationship, he wanted to get me out there,” Holland said. “I feel like he sees a lot in me. He wants me over there. He feels like he can help me reach my goals. What more can you want in a program?“
Since this will be Holland’s first time in Lexington, he’ll learn plenty about the inner workings of the program and get a sense of what goes on behind the scenes. But he’s already quite familiar with Kentucky’s track record of producing professional basketball players.
“(Coach Coleman) said that they got a big resume of putting guys like in the league and I’ve seen it,” Holland added. “You’ve got Anthony Davis, dudes like that, so with that resume, I could be one of those players. I can add to the resume.”
But as is always the case with a player as talented as Holland, other suitors are heavily pursuing him. Specifically, Arkansas and UCLA stick out in his mind when asked who he’s hearing from the most. He recently returned from an official visit to UCLA earlier this month and will take a visit to Arkansas next weekend ahead of his trip to Lexington.
Here’s what Holland told KSR about Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman and UCLA head coach Mick Cronin.
Arkansas: “Musselman is a great recruiter. He got one of my former players at Duncanville, Anthony Black. Anthony, anytime I see him it’s ‘Go Hawgs’ man. He really wants me over there so I can’t wait to get out there and see what it’s like.
“I like how he coaches. He coaches how I play. They get out in transition, they run, he got a whole bunch of guys like me.”
UCLA: “(Cronin is) a hard-nosed coach. Again he coaches how I play. He’s big on player development, which is really what stands out to me. Most guys ain’t really like that so I feel like he sees a lot in me and he can help me reach my goals.”
Holland, who plays for Duncanville High School in Texas, is actually getting a taste of the Bluegrass State a couple of weeks before his visit. He and his AAU squad, Drive Nation, are up in Louisville this weekend for the third session of the Nike EYBL circuit. Through nine AAU games this summer, Holland is averaging 11.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 46 percent from the field overall.
He dropped 17 points on 7-12 shooting (2-3 from distance) in Drive Nation’s Saturday nightcap against Team Durant, which boasts fellow ’23 five-star forward KJ Evans. The two went against each other regularly throughout the contest, with Holland getting the better of the matchup on the box sheet and scoreboard.
There is currently no timeline for a decision, Holland admitted, but an idea of when he might want to commit will come after he takes his official visits in the coming weeks. The NBA’s G League Ignite program is also an interesting factor in his recruitment. They have yet to offer him a spot, but there is a sense that if one were to come, it would be incredibly enticing. Texas is also involved and could get Holland on campus for an official visit this summer, as well.
It’s a fluid situation regarding his decision. His visits to Arkansas and Kentucky should give us a better idea of which way he’s leaning as he heads into the final stretch of his recruitment.
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