Texas Basketball: Ron Holland’s LOI release still hasn’t been granted

Some of the biggest news of the offseason around college hoops thus far was the elite five-star Duncanville forward Ron Holland de-committing from Texas basketball in April. The No. 1 ranked recruit in the nation in the 2023 class according to the 247Sports Composite has essentially been courted by every major college hoops program in the country, at least among those that had initially offered him, in the last couple of weeks.

In the meantime, newly-hired full-time head coach Rodney Terry and the Longhorns staff have continued to try to recruit Holland back to Texas. Obviously, it would be ideal if you’re the Longhorns to get Holland to re-commit to the 2023 class.

But it sounds like Holland is thinking multiple through multiple different options before he ultimately decides what’s next for him. Something else that appears to be holding him up is the fact that the Texas administration hasn’t granted his release request from his National Letter of Intent.

A 247Sports report on May 10 indicates that Holland has yet to officially be granted his release from his LOI at Texas. And while it doesn’t sound like Texas is trying to hold Holland’s LOI hostage to try and keep him around as a Longhorn, this is still an ongoing situation that the Texas administration is looking into.

"While Holland has taken the steps to be released by Texas, his release hasn’t yet been granted. It doesn’t sound as if Texas is trying to hold up Holland, their administration is just making sure there hasn’t been any foul play. Meanwhile, Terry and his staff are certainly trying to retain him as they still want him wearing the burnt orange."

Some of the schools that are involved in this recruitment since Holland de-committed from Texas on April 28 are the Arkansas Razorbacks and Kentucky Wildcats. The G-League is also still a possibility for the elite forward recruit.

It’s worth noting that Holland wouldn’t have to be granted a release from his LOI at Texas if he ultimately decides to take his talents to the G-League. If he does commit to play for the G-League Ignite program ahead of the 2023-24 season, he could essentially do that at any time.

Terry and the Longhorns have lost both their commitments via the high school ranks in the 2023 class this offseason. First, it was the five-star Southern California Academy combo guard that de-committed from Texas to sign with the NBL’s Illawarra Hawks in Australia. Holland was the second five-star pledge to de-commit from the Longhorns in an up-and-down month on the recruiting trail in April for the new Texas head coach.