Ron Holland - G League Ignite - 2024 NBA Draft

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[BostonCouchGM]

I have a feeling his game is going to grow leaps and bounds. He'll be in that top 5 range if he puts in the work. I do wish these guys would go to college since I prefer watching it over G-League. The stakes in the tournament are so much higher and really give us a better glimpse into their makeups and talent levels.

[ThunderScot]

I agree that it's more interesting to watch a prospect playing for a college team. There is just more footage to evaluate and more to play for.
However, if I was a prospect and deciding where to showcase my game and improve, I'd take G-league every time. The ignite guys are getting NBA coaching and playing against fully grown, NBA quality players every game. That has to have a massive benefit to a player's rate of improvement. You just need to look at how Leonard Miller's game has matured from last year compared to now.

I think that not all people have caught on to how much higher the level (of G-league) is when evaluating prospects. I'm certain Scoot would have absolutely destroyed the college game, and yet loads of people have Brandon Miller higher than him on their boards. It's not a level playing field for evaluation, and I don't believe that is always acknowledged.

[penggemar]

He looks like Harrison Barnes.

[FarBeyondDriven]

32-9-4 with 5 steals and 2 blocks last night. More importantly he shot the ball well which has been the detractors main ammunition against him. It's getting real hard for anyone to claim he's not an elite prospect with how much tape we now have on this kid on the big stage especially since he's usually one of the youngest guys on the court. It's pretty safe to say he's going anywhere from #1 to #5 depending on team needs and is in fact an elite prospect which of course doesn't help the wEaK dRaFt clAsS cult.

I'd like to see the game to continue to slow down for him and he work on finding his spots and being more careful with the ball. He has a nice stroke so I'm not too concerned with the three ball yet but that will eventually dictate whether he's an all-star or not at the NBA level. He certainly has the talent and upside to reach that level but so many that came before him did as well and it never happened.

He hasn't been utilized in the role he'd have, off-ball, in the NBA with Ignite, which is probably why he's had such poor efficiency and too many turnovers. I feel he'll end up being a 2 guard like Jaylen Brown or Mathurin that can defend 1-3 and would be better served focusing on playing that role specifically but as currently constructed this team doesn't offer that or maybe he and his camp in concert with the coaches are exposing him to more on-ball work to see if he's capable which he does show he is in spurts. If not, he's got the ball way too much and that gets him into trouble. About 1/4 of his turnovers, from the games I've seen, can be attributed to miscommunication or bad play by teammates. This is why it's important to actually watch the game and not just focus on box scores. I'd really like to see Buzelis get healthy and these two play together to see how this team would perform with better spacing and more talent on the floor.

Anyway, I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion in his dedicated thread given his stats as a potential #1 pick but I'm sure we'll get more as we get closer to the draft. There's been very little attention given to this draft class and its prospects compared to previous seasons. I guess that can be attributed to there not being a Zion or Wembanyama freak of nature at the top that lazy "scouts" can all agree on. It does seem like the whole scouting community gave their takes on this class in a throw away comment/video and deemed it weak 12-18 months ago and haven't bothered to revisit or are unwilling to go against their initial impressions which is par for the course. I have seen more and more amateur guys who seem passionate and knowledgeable and worth listening to slowly start to defend the class which is nice to see. They at least seem capable of admitting they were too hasty writing it off and are acknowledging that there's compelling talent to be considered.

[wemby]

Are these his stats? https://gleague.nba.com/player/1641842/ron-holland
22.7 3P%, 56.5 FT% 4.4 TO (vs 2.4 AST)... I don't watch Ignite, but that's downright alarming for a projected top 3 draft pick
Also him looking much smaller than his advertised 6'8" height makes it a really tough sell for such a high pick

[2weekswithpay]

Are these his stats? https://gleague.nba.com/player/1641842/ron-holland
22.7 3P%, 56.5 FT% 4.4 TO (vs 2.4 AST)... I don't watch Ignite, but that's downright alarming for a projected top 3 draft pick
Also him looking much smaller than his advertised 6'8" height makes it a really tough sell for such a high pick

Looks correct. Holland had an awful start to the season, I believe he had a game with 10 TOs earlier.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Are these his stats? https://gleague.nba.com/player/1641842/ron-holland
22.7 3P%, 56.5 FT% 4.4 TO (vs 2.4 AST)... I don't watch Ignite, but that's downright alarming for a projected top 3 draft pick
Also him looking much smaller than his advertised 6'8" height makes it a really tough sell for such a high pick

Here he is, far left, #1, standing behind the 6'4" Collier. He looks pretty close to 6'8" to me here. You get a really good sense of everyone's height from this photo. 6'3" Bronny next to the slightly shorter McCain at 6'2.5" though the hair might be giving him some height. Wagner slightly sub 6'2" and Sheppard at 6'2". Jackson at 6'1". Dillingham clearly 1-2 inches shorter than Sheppard and Wagner so he's may be just a shade over 6'.

What's really telling is that Edwards and Williams are clearly not their listed heights of 6'8". They both look to be in that 6'5.5" to 6'6" range. Castle #7 in the center is around their height so he has ideal size for an NBA point guard. Ja'Kobe Walter #14 is clearly 6'6" as is Andrej behind him and if they're 6'6" than Holland to their left, who is clearly a couple inches taller is 6'8". In fact, Holland actually looks the same height as Buzelis (far right) which means Buzelis is closer to 6'8" than his rumored 6'10". One caveat, most of these guys turned 18 years old this year and they're all likely still growing so things may have changed in the last 8 months.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2023/3/28/23659427/mcdonalds-all-american-game-rosters-highlights-bronny-james-best-player

I wish I could shut off my brain and pay too much credence to G-League stats too. It's a good thing it's the least important thing when it comes to evaluating prospects.

[clyde21]

i doubt Collier is 6-4 but that would be a nice surprise I guess

[wemby]

i doubt Collier is 6-4 but that would be a nice surprise I guess

Yeah, definitely. I think that's the problem trying to inferring players' height with regards to one another, you've got no reliable starting point (plus there's issues with perspective, etc). I don't think Collier is 6'4", I don't think Buzelis is 6'10", I don't think Holland is 6'8". They're probably inch and a half / two inches shorter than their listed height.

[wemby]

wish I could shut off my brain and pay too much credence to G-League stats too. It's a good thing it's the least important thing when it comes to evaluating prospects.

Some statistics are more important than others, and though they're not the end all be all, I don't see why G-League FT% should not be a reliable indicator for NBA FT%, aside from the fact that the sample size is too small for now. 3P% and TOs also seem pretty relevant.
Overall it concerns me that they paint a difficult transition for Holland to NBA small forward, which is what would be his highest ceiling IMO.
That is also consistent with the eye test, I've watched quite a few highlights clips from Holland's games, and his points seem to come overwhelmingly within a few feet from the basket, with hustle being a big factor in his success. I'd like to believe he's a high ceiling prospect (as a Spurs fan I have an interest in this draft class for obvious reasons) but to be honest I can't help but to feel underwhelmed every time I watch the supposed top prospects in this class. Hopefully someone breaks out before the end of the season.

[Hal14]

Are these his stats? https://gleague.nba.com/player/1641842/ron-holland
22.7 3P%, 56.5 FT% 4.4 TO (vs 2.4 AST)... I don't watch Ignite, but that's downright alarming for a projected top 3 draft pick
Also him looking much smaller than his advertised 6'8" height makes it a really tough sell for such a high pick

Looks correct. Holland had an awful start to the season, I believe he had a game with 10 TOs earlier.

If you also include the 3 games from the Intercontinental Cup and the 2 exhibition games vs Perth Wildcats, he's at 27% from 3..

Not great but not terrible either considering he's only 18 (1 of the youngest players in this draft class), is playing against pros (playing vs competition that is much better than what someone like Cody Williams has faced) and is shooting from the NBA 3pt line which is further away than the college line..

He's still very young. And you have got to like how effective he is at pressuring the rim and finishing at the rim at such a young age, vs such tough competition.

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The shooting will come. At least he's shooting the 3 with pretty good volume (over 3 attempts per game if you include the 2 games vs Perth, the 3 intercontinental cup games and the first 9 G league showcase games).

[2weekswithpay]

Looks correct. Holland had an awful start to the season, I believe he had a game with 10 TOs earlier.

If you also include the 3 games from the Intercontinental Cup and the 2 exhibition games vs Perth Wildcats, he's at 27% from 3..

Not great but not terrible either considering he's only 18 (1 of the youngest players in this draft class), is playing against pros (playing vs competition that is much better than what someone like Cody Williams has faced) and is shooting from the NBA 3pt line which is further away than the college line..

He's still very young. And you have got to like how effective he is at pressuring the rim and finishing at the rim at such a young age, vs such tough competition.

The shooting will come. At least he's shooting the 3 with pretty good volume (over 3 attempts per game if you include the 2 games vs Perth, the 3 intercontinental cup games and the first 9 G league showcase games).

I'm not writing Holland off, but I don't believe he's ever had a consistent stretch of good shooting or FT numbers. I need to see decent playmaking or shooting from athletic wings for me to buy in on them. Kuminga and Cam Whitmore were recent prospects I wasn't high on for this reason and they are athletic and good at pressuring the rim like Holland. I know he probably had too much responsibility handling the ball so far but the playmaking wasn't good enough for me, but I'm willing to ignore the first few games if he continues to cut down on the TOs. Same with the shooting, all I want is close to average shooting ability, a broken shoot is too much for me to ignore.

[FarBeyondDriven]

wish I could shut off my brain and pay too much credence to G-League stats too. It's a good thing it's the least important thing when it comes to evaluating prospects.

Some statistics are more important than others, and though they're not the end all be all, I don't see why G-League FT% should not be a reliable indicator for NBA FT%, aside from the fact that the sample size is too small for now. 3P% and TOs also seem pretty relevant.
Overall it concerns me that they paint a difficult transition for Holland to NBA small forward, which is what would be his highest ceiling IMO.
That is also consistent with the eye test, I've watched quite a few highlights clips from Holland's games, and his points seem to come overwhelmingly within a few feet from the basket, with hustle being a big factor in his success. I'd like to believe he's a high ceiling prospect (as a Spurs fan I have an interest in this draft class for obvious reasons) but to be honest I can't help but to feel underwhelmed every time I watch the supposed top prospects in this class. Hopefully someone breaks out before the end of the season.

his team doesn't really have a dynamic PG to run the offense and their games are essentially AAU games or Summer League scrimmages. He's not having plays run for him and a coach trying to set him up for success. It's basically guys hustling and taking guys one on one. This is one of the worst aspects of the G-League. On one hand he's facing NBA athletes and he's still advanced physically and athletically enough to be the best player on the floor every game he's in. On the other, we aren't seeing him in a role he'll be asked to play at the next level.

All you can do at this point is determine whether he's got NBA size and athleticism and compare him to his peers. He clearly has the physical profile. Every all-star game I've watched he seems he's faster and more active than most others and finds ways to be productive and contribute. If he had gone to college we would have seen him in a structured setting and I'm guessing he'd get cleaner looks and have less turnovers and greater efficiency. I choose to take that on faith. Maybe the NBA combine will help paint a better picture.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Holland seems to be figuring it out.

[EvanZ]

Holland seems to be figuring it out.

Awww man that's not a fun narrative for RealGM.

[God Squad]

Does he have any DeMar in him? The DeMar before he figured out the mid range jumper.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Does he have any DeMar in him? The DeMar before he figured out the mid range jumper.

Not really. DeRozan was a year older, a smoother athlete, slightly smaller, better handle and bag but a worse defender and playmaker. I'd like to see how Holland compares to him in a year.

[God Squad]

Does he have any DeMar in him? The DeMar before he figured out the mid range jumper.

Not really. DeRozan was a year older, a smoother athlete, slightly smaller, better handle and bag but a worse defender and playmaker. I'd like to see how Holland compares to him in a year.

DeMar's handle coming out of USC was very weak, TBH he was a very raw prospect in general. If it didn't consist of him getting downhill in the halfcourt, dunker spot or in transition it was rough.

It's the first comp that comes to my mind from watching him. We'll see how the season progresses, but that's my initial comp.

[babyjax13]

Does he have any DeMar in him? The DeMar before he figured out the mid range jumper.

Not really. DeRozan was a year older, a smoother athlete, slightly smaller, better handle and bag but a worse defender and playmaker. I'd like to see how Holland compares to him in a year.

DeMar's handle coming out of USC was very weak, TBH he was a very raw prospect in general. If it didn't consist of him getting downhill in the halfcourt, dunker spot or in transition it was rough.

It's the first comp that comes to my mind from watching him. We'll see how the season progresses, but that's my initial comp.

I got criticized pretty heavily for feeling like DeRozan's handle would come along at the NBA level. The thing I saw was fantastic footwork, I assumed the handle would follow. I don't see that with Holland.