The Ron Holland Blog: UCLA Visit, Top Eight, Nike EYBL, Nardo Wick and More

Holland said schools in his final eight have turned up their pursuit a notch since he cut his list.

Ron Holland will take an official visit to UCLA this weekend / USA Basketball

Duncanville (Texas) forward Ron Holland is, arguably, the top prospect in the 2023 class with the resume – gold medal with USA Basketball’s U16 team, state title – to back it up. That kind of clout has a virtual who’s who of college basketball heavyweights giving chase. Now, he’s agreed to give Sports Illustrated exclusive access into his world by chronicling everything from intimate details about his recruitment to his everyday life in a blog.

Ron Holland here, back at it with another blog for you guys so let’s get into it!

Right now, the biggest news with me is that I’m down to eight options, and I’m feeling good about it.

It took a little time to get the list down, but I know these are the best options for me.

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It’s like, I still don’t know what option is right for me, but I know I’ll be able to find that from this list.

It’s Arkansas, UCLA, Kentucky, G League, Houston, Auburn, Texas and Memphis.

It was hard texting the coaches that I had strong relationships with to let them know that they weren’t gonna be on the list, but that’s all a part of this process.

They still told me congrats and wished me luck and told me they just wanted to see me win. That felt good to know it wasn’t just about basketball.

I can definitely see the difference with the texts! Not getting as many as I was, but I’m not mad at that at all! Haha!

I’m excited because I’m headed to UCLA for my visit on Thursday!

I’m planning on going to Texas sometime soon and we’re talking to Kentucky and Arkansas about me getting out there. I’ve been to Memphis already, and I plan on going to Houston soon.

I want to get to all eight; that’s my plan.

I could cut my list to five later and then commit from there at some point, but I’m not sure about that right now.

Since I cut the list, certain schools have turned things up a lot. I’m not rushing anything though; I’m taking my time so I know that I’ll make the best decision in the end.

Other than that, we’re heavy into the spring ball season and, honestly, my team isn’t doing great right now. I know that we’re gonna kick it up a notch; we just have to get our minds right and stick together.

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With me individually, I think it’s a matter of getting out of my head.

I’ve been doing everything that I usually do on the court, I just haven’t been doing it at a high level and that’s the thing I want to change.

I think this week at UCLA will be a good break from everything for me. Whenever I need to step away from things for a while, I usually just get sleep, rest, get recovery, play the videogame, and unwind.

I definitely need that.

I’m excited about trying out for USA Basketball too in a few weeks.

After winning the gold medal last summer, it just made me want to get another one!

We ended up winning the state title again, but, honestly, we really approach it as business. We’re used to winning here and to get another one was great, but we’re already working to be ready to get another one.

School is good; with all the traveling I’m doing right now I have to do something catching up here and there, but I’m on top of it.

Music-wise I’m listening to a whole bunch of Nardo Wick and Rio Da Yung OG! I definitely vibe to those two.

My predictions right now for the NBA Playoffs are that the Warriors or the Grizzlies are gonna win it. I just think both of them are at a different level and whoever wins will be in the best position to take it all.

OK guys, that’s it for this one; I appreciate all the love and support that I’m getting from everyone and make sure to check back soon for my next one.

Don’t forget to follow Ron Holland:

Twitter: @ron2kholland

Instagram: _ronhoops