Ron Holland Announces Top 5, UCLA Men's Basketball Remains in the Hunt
One of the top prospects in the nation has once again narrowed down his list of options, and the Bruins are still right in the thick of his recruitment.
Class of 2023 small forward Ron Holland went from eight semifinalists down to five finalists Sunday night, revealing them on Twitter and Instagram. UCLA men's basketball made the cut, as did Kentucky, Texas, Arkansas and the NBA G League.
Holland previously had Houston, Memphis and Auburn in his top eight, as well as offers from Kansas, Oklahoma State, Oregon, SMU, TCU, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
The Duncanville (TX) forward took an official visit to UCLA on May 14 alongside fellow five-star prospect Isaiah Collier. A month later, Holland visited Arkansas, then picked up an offer from Kentucky after his official visit to Lexington.
The Bruins sent Holland his initial offer on Sept. 14 and have been viewed as one of the leaders in his recruitment ever since.
Holland is a five-star prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite, Rivals and ESPN, with all three rankings having him among the top-15 recruits in the nation. Holland is the consensus top player in Texas and is one of the top forwards in the entire country as well.
The 6-foot-8 Holland put up 15.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game as a high school junior, leading Duncanville to a 35-1 record and Texas state title in the process. For his career, Holland is a 59% shooter from the field, 32% shooter from deep and 69% shooter from the free throw line.
Holland and Duncanville actually beat another Bruin target in the Texas state championship game – McKinney (TX) shooting guard Ja'Kobe Walter, who put UCLA in his own top eight on May 4.
The Bruins officially being in the running for Holland, Walter, Collier and Aaron Bradshaw puts them in prime position to haul in a five-star recruit this cycle, but they will need to build out a much larger class with as many as eight scholarship spots opening up next offseason.
UCLA does not have any commits for the class of 2023, though, five-star or otherwise. There are plenty of three and four-stars who can round out the class around whatever five stars coach Mick Cronin brings in, such as Andrej Stojakovic, Milan Momcilovic, Brandon Williams, Devin Williams, Isaiah Miranda and Arrinten Page.
Holland, should he pick the Bruins over the Wildcats, Longhorns and Razorbacks, would be a true headliner. Cronin has earned four five-star commitments since coming to Westwood, although Daishen Nix backed out to join the G League.
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