Texas Basketball: 5-Star F Ron Holland headed to the G-League?

Jon Rosenthal reported on Twitter on the afternoon of May 23 that the former elite Texas basketball five-star forward signee and Duncanville High School product Ron Holland got his release from the University of Texas-Austin. In the same tweet, Rosenthal also mentioned that Holland is visiting the G-League Ignite program in Las Vegas on May 23.

Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News also reported on May 23 that Holland is looking to visit four or five schools after he graduates from Duncanville this spring. There was no specific mention, though, in this Dallas Morning News report of which school Holland intends to visit after graduation.

Holland originally de-committed from Texas on April 28, roughly one month after Rodney Terry had the interim tag removed to become the Longhorns’ new full-time head coach. He also requested a release from his National Letter of Intent from the University of Texas after he announced on social media that he was re-opening his recruitment.

Various reports did make it clear that Terry and the Longhorns weren’t throwing in the towel in this recruitment after Holland de-committed last month.

Former 5-Star Texas basketball commit Ron Holland visiting with G-League Ignite

But it looks like those efforts could be all for naught at this point.

Some of the other schools that we’ve heard Holland is considering since he de-committed from Texas on April 28 are the Arkansas Razorbacks and Kentucky Wildcats. Quite a few more schools have reached out to Holland since he de-committed from Texas, though.

When Holland originally committed to former head coach Chris Beard and the Longhorns in November 2022, he chose Texas over the likes of the UCLA Bruins, Arkansas, and the G-League.

It sounds like the G-League could be a real possibility for Holland now that he had his LOI officially released by Texas administration.

If Holland were to hypothetically decide to take his talents to play for the G-League Ignite program next season, he would join other projected first-round 2024 NBA Draft picks such as 6-foot-10 small forward Matas Buzelis and shooting guard Thierry Darlan.

The G-League Ignite has helped to produce multiple NBA Draft Lottery picks in the last couple of years, including Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green and Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga.

Holland is one of two five-star signees to de-commit from Texas in the last couple of months. The other is the Southern California Academy combo guard AJ Johnson, who signed with the Illawarra Hawks in Australia’s NBL this spring.