Ron Holland - G League Ignite - 2024 NBA Draft

[XTC]

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.

not true at all. I watched a lot of him in college and scouts got it wrong. They thought because he didn't dribble much that he had a weak handle or that he couldn't go left. But that wasn't his game. He got guys off balance with often just a single dribble to threaten a drive enabling him to rise up and hit jumpers. He basically didn't need much to find his spots. One dribble plus a spin was often all he needed. Most guys his age aren't adept at going left. Hell, most NBA players can't do it. For some reason scouts were particularly harsh on him and it hurt his draft stock. He didn't have an elite handle but it was far from weak. And he was an insane athlete.

When I scout prospects' handles I look for a few things. Can they dribble with their head up. Can they dribble in traffic without panicking. Can they penetrate off the dribble. DeRozan could do all those things and he was 6'6" making it all the more impressive. Holland doesn't even have his handle but again, he's a year younger.

Watch on YouTube

see .58 and 1:59. Between the legs, spins, in traffic, coast to coast dunks. This is good stuff especially for a wing.

Demar had a horrible handle early on in his career. We raptors fans where comparing him to Rip Hamilton because of his inability to put it on the floor. Anything more than 2 dribbles he was bouncing it off his foot. It wasn't until 13-14 NBA season that he advanced his handle.

I will say though, one thing scouts missed was Derozan's foot work. It was great even as a rookie.

[FarBeyondDriven]

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.

not true at all. I watched a lot of him in college and scouts got it wrong. They thought because he didn't dribble much that he had a weak handle or that he couldn't go left. But that wasn't his game. He got guys off balance with often just a single dribble to threaten a drive enabling him to rise up and hit jumpers. He basically didn't need much to find his spots. One dribble plus a spin was often all he needed. Most guys his age aren't adept at going left. Hell, most NBA players can't do it. For some reason scouts were particularly harsh on him and it hurt his draft stock. He didn't have an elite handle but it was far from weak. And he was an insane athlete.

When I scout prospects' handles I look for a few things. Can they dribble with their head up. Can they dribble in traffic without panicking. Can they penetrate off the dribble. DeRozan could do all those things and he was 6'6" making it all the more impressive. Holland doesn't even have his handle but again, he's a year younger.

Watch on YouTube

see .58 and 1:59. Between the legs, spins, in traffic, coast to coast dunks. This is good stuff especially for a wing.

Demar had a horrible handle early on in his career. We raptors fans where comparing him to Rip Hamilton because of his inability to put it on the floor. Anything more than 2 dribbles he was bouncing it off his foot. It wasn't until 13-14 NBA season that he advanced his handle.

I will say though, one thing scouts missed was Derozan's foot work. It was great even as a rookie.

handle so bad he was very turnover prone...checks stats...no he wasn't and your memory has completely failed you. It's a false narrative likely based on Raptors fans that disliked him. You can go back to his high school days and clearly see that for a wing his handle was far from weak.

Watch on YouTube

[FarBeyondDriven]

anyway, back to the topic at hand, Holland flashes every game. He does some thing every game that opens eyes and surprises people. He had a breakaway drunk where he did a Lebron/Kobe signature dunk with ease. Today he had a wicked crossover drive to the rim with a tough finish then a great block where he got way up on the other end. He's a reliable jumper away from being a star

[JMAC3]

Pretty easily the #1 guy on my board right now, probably in a tier by himself even with his flaws.

[Colbinii]

Pretty easily the #1 guy on my board right now, probably in a tier by himself even with his flaws.

What makes you like him more than Ja'kobe Walter and Cody Williams?

[JMAC3]

Pretty easily the #1 guy on my board right now, probably in a tier by himself even with his flaws.

What makes you like him more than Ja'kobe Walter and Cody Williams?

Size and way he moves. Cody Williams looks like he is in slow motion compared to Holland.

[FarBeyondDriven]

I think the awful team, coaching and losing is taking a toll on this young man. The past few games I've noticed him hanging his head, shaking his head, barking at opponents and pressing. I hope it doesn't kill his spirit.

[CP War Hawks]

That's why I want most kids to play in college. Learn how to lead your team, work with a demanding coach (very important life skill) experience the raucous crowds, compete against rivals, etc.

[MemphisX]

That's why I want most kids to play in college. Learn how to lead your team, work with a demanding coach (very important life skill) experience the raucous crowds, compete against rivals, etc.

I think there is no reason for the Ignite at this point. Dealing with crowds and leading your team is a big thing for a top level player. Playing in empty gyms and playing for nothing seems anti-competitive. It was a great idea before the NIL but if you want the pure pro experience, I would go the NBL route over the Ignite.

[EMG518]

Pretty easily the #1 guy on my board right now, probably in a tier by himself even with his flaws.

What makes you like him more than Ja'kobe Walter and Cody Williams?

Size and way he moves. Cody Williams looks like he is in slow motion compared to Holland.

What type of role do you see him playing in the NBA?

[JMAC3]

What makes you like him more than Ja'kobe Walter and Cody Williams?

Size and way he moves. Cody Williams looks like he is in slow motion compared to Holland.

What type of role do you see him playing in the NBA?

20 ppg scorer with real wing size. After that he is 18 yrs old, he is going to be bad at defense and you will have to coach him up on that end.

[mattao313]

That's why I want most kids to play in college. Learn how to lead your team, work with a demanding coach (very important life skill) experience the raucous crowds, compete against rivals, etc.

I think there is no reason for the Ignite at this point. Dealing with crowds and leading your team is a big thing for a top level player. Playing in empty gyms and playing for nothing seems anti-competitive. It was a great idea before the NIL but if you want the pure pro experience, I would go the NBL route over the Ignite.

Yup this was my argue against the playing against grown men argument. The g league just isn't competitive

Sent from my SM-A528B using RealGM mobile app

[Chuck Everett]

The G-League isn't competitive, yet the Ignite keeps losing every game? I don't think competitive is the right word to use here. I think the word you guys are looking for is "stakes." There are no stakes for the prospects aside from doing their one-year stopover before heading to the league.

I think where the program fails, is a lot of them are guaranteed playing time. The roster should be built like any other G-League team that is actually playing to win games. If you've seen the Indiana team or Sioux Falls or Rio Grande Valley, they are playing to win games. Cam Whitmore was able to go down there, work on some things and he's right back.

Then again, there is the possibility that the consensus of this being an underwhelming HS class is rearing its ugly head. This team is struggling with their G-League opponents more than previous years and may not be as prepared for the pros as they may have thought. If guys don't want to go to study hall and become pros, then sometimes you have to take your lumps.

Sorry they don't get to pad their stats against the SWAC/NEC in the non-con and every night they are playing against guys that might be better than them at this point in their professional careers. Thems the breaks.

[BigGargamel]

I think lumping all of these guys on a single team hurts. It's like Kentucky. Some guys are going to get squeezed out. And they are all trying to get their numbers, show their individual games and fight for minutes and touches. I don't think the Ignite has helped any of their prospects yet, but who knows, these guys may have also struggled if they were in college. A lot of top five recruits fizzle out there as well.

I still like Holland and would feel comfortable using a top three pick on him this year. He does a lot well.

[ItsDanger]

G league track record will cast doubt on any of these guys moving forward until the pattern changes.

[andyhop]

That's why I want most kids to play in college. Learn how to lead your team, work with a demanding coach (very important life skill) experience the raucous crowds, compete against rivals, etc.

I think there is no reason for the Ignite at this point. Dealing with crowds and leading your team is a big thing for a top level player. Playing in empty gyms and playing for nothing seems anti-competitive. It was a great idea before the NIL but if you want the pure pro experience, I would go the NBL route over the Ignite.

I think if you want to pay prospects to play in the GLeague you have to spread them out between teams not throw them all on one team like the Ignite. Of course that brings its own problems of getting a team to spend time developing someone who isn't their player beyond the one season.

Teams predominately made of freshman aren't dominating in the NCAA expecting them to compete against adult pros makes no sense.

[Duke4life831]

Ya Ignite looked like it was going to be the thing that really hurt college ball and take away the top OADs. But I feel like NIL is going to end up killing Ignite. Ignite might end up being the place where top 50 guys go after they already committed to a college and switch to Ignite late for whatever reason (realizing lack of minutes, NIL not as good as they were promised and so on). If Karter Knox ends up at UK, Ignite is going to be going into next summer with 0 top 100 players for next year's class.

Once college introduced NIL and once the numbers started coming out and people realized how much football and basketball stars were making, I feel like that took a ton of wind out of the sails for Ignite.

Best domestic route is college. I think the best overall route is over seas professional league. Ignite just doesnt offer enough for it to be worth it anymore.

[clyde21]

problem with Ignite is they are throwing all these 18 yr olds on the same team, against other GL teams full of NBA vets or older players, never establishing any type of offense or cadence on the court for any of them. id be much more interested in the process if they were plugged into more natural scenarios and real teams.

[Colbinii]

problem with Ignite is they are throwing all these 18 yr olds on the same team, against other GL teams full of NBA vets or older players, never establishing any type of offense or cadence on the court for any of them. id be much more interested in the process if they were plugged into more natural scenarios and real teams.

Like College Basketball

Real talk, I think you learn a lot more playing in a system on a team in College/NBL/Europe than you would currently in the G-League. The Ignite is more like AAU for young adults than it is actual team building/development.

[FarBeyondDriven]

problem with Ignite is they are throwing all these 18 yr olds on the same team, against other GL teams full of NBA vets or older players, never establishing any type of offense or cadence on the court for any of them. id be much more interested in the process if they were plugged into more natural scenarios and real teams.

Like College Basketball

Real talk, I think you learn a lot more playing in a system on a team in College/NBL/Europe than you would currently in the G-League. The Ignite is more like AAU for young adults than it is actual team building/development.

announcers were talking about this awhile back. They said some of the allure of the Ignite team is that you learn to be a professional. How to conduct yourself, how to interview and just the lifestyle and expectations of being a professional with basketball as your first and only priority. Also, that they expose you to aspects of the game you'd likely never get to experience while in college playing in a strict system.

They used Holland as an example. He won't be more than a secondary playmaker at the next level at least for the first part of his career but early on at Ignite, due to injuries, he was actually getting experience initiating the offense. Sure, as an 18 y/o and playing with other 18/19 y/o he had some ugly possessions but he also flashed the ability to maybe someday be that kind of player. Also, he's been free to shoot threes off the dribble which isn't great for his success rate but at least he's getting reps doing it.

So, it's not ALL negative. In the NBL and in Europe these kids play much less and don't have the same amount of freedom so sadly, if you don't wish to go to college Ignite is still your best bet. It doesn't appear to be hurting draft stocks so far. We'll see how Holland, Buzelis and Smith fare. Maybe it will and that will prevent other guys from going there.