After a run to the Elite Eight, Texas Longhorns the men’s basketball team looked to be in an excellent position going forward. It was their deepest hit in 15 years. Head coach Rodney Terry removed his interim tag and signed him to a long-term contract. Their locker was about to be restocked with two incoming five-star prospects from the 2023 class.
This continued growth has become more difficult since early April.
In mid-April, five-star AJ Johnson announced he would forego college and join the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian NBL rather than follow through on his commitment to Texas. Johnson, a 6-foot-5 combo guardwas ranked #18 nationally at the time.
On Friday, five-star offensive tackle Ron Holland announced he had also decommitted from the Longhorns. He said in his Instagram post that Texas “will still be one of my top schools of choice.”
Holland immediately received responses in the comments from players such as Kentucky five-star Aaron Bradshaw and former Duncanville teammate Anthony Black, a guard from Arkansas who declared for the draft.
Both Arkansas and Kentucky were among Holland’s final five choices prior to his commitment, along with UCLA and the NBA G League. With the 2023 school year just weeks away and nearly every player committed, with college programs already planning their seasons, the G League or another professional league would be a realistic expectation — but for an athlete like Holland, nearly every team in the nation will will be more than happy to adjust his schemes for the upcoming season if it means adding him to the Corp.
Holland’s loss hurts Texas. Widely considered a top-5 player in the recruiting class, he was the best player on the #1 team in Super 25 National Ranking. He has shown elite play on both ends of the court, can shoot 3s at his 6-foot-8 height, and was named the MVP of the McDonald’s Game practice sessions.
With that said, the door may not be closed for Texas. Holland told Athletic that Terry “really deserves this job” as head coach, adding: “It feels really good for me because I can stay committed to this team.”