Prized basketball recruit Ron Holland decommits from Texas
The roller-coaster offseason continued for head coach Rodney Terry and the Texas men’s basketball team Friday, when prized recruit Ron Holland decommitted from Texas.
Holland, a 6-foot-8 forward and McDonald's All-American, signed a letter of intent to play for the Longhorns in November. He said Texas remains a possible landing spot for next season, but the upcoming Duncanville High School graduate wants to explore his options.
More: Rodney Terry: Becoming Texas' men's basketball head coach is 'a dream come true'
"I want to take this time to thank head coach RT (Terry) and the entire Texas coaching staff for their consideration," Holland said in his social media announcement. "I would also like to thank the Longhorn Nation for all their love and support. While this has been a difficult process, I have decided to decommit from University of Texas and re-open my recruitment. Texas will still be one of my top schools of choice."
Holland had named Texas, UCLA and Arkansas as his final collegiate choices in October before pledging to Texas in November. The Longhorns' 29-9 record and run to the Elite Eight seemed to solidify his commitment to Texas, as did the hiring of Terry as the full-time coach after the end of the season.
Rated as the sixth-best prospect in the nation for the class of 2023, Holland seemed like a reliable member of next year’s rotation prior to Friday’s stunning news. During last month’s McDonald’s All-American game in Houston, Holland said Terry played a critical role in his recruitment over the past two years.
“I feel like Coach RT, he’s just really well-trusted by his guys,” Holland said before the game. “Not only does he coach them, but he makes them good on and off the court to make sure that they're just good mentally. He teaches a lot of life lessons that you can carry with you to become the young man that I'm going to be. Knowing that he really cares about his players and he's not going to give up on you, you feel like that makes him a player's coach.
"That was a big thing of my recruiting. You can pick out who really cares about you. They want to know how your family is doing, what you're doing in the gym, or what game you're playing. They care about your personal life, they really care about you. If I'm going to your school, I want to be treated like family. I can trust you and you can trust me.”
Holland, Gatorade’s player of the year for the state of Texas, averaged 20.3 points and 10.1 rebounds this past season for Duncanville. He also earned a spot on the Team USA roster for the Nike Hoop Summit this month.
Holland was seen as a potential one-and-done player based on his size, versatile skill set and elite defensive instincts. His announcement blunted a surge of momentum for the team this week. Texas fortified its frontcourt on Sunday when forward Dylan Disu announced his return for a super-senior season and Virginia big man Kadin Shedrick picked the Longhorns after entering the transfer portal. On Thursday, coveted Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas announced on his social media accounts that he will play at Texas next season.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Prized basketball recruit Ron Holland decommits from Texas
