Aden Holloway

Aden Holloway was known as one of the best shooters in high school basketball a year ago. He was equally dangerous off the catch or the dribble, had deep range, and was also a threat to come off screens. This year at Auburn, it was a major surprise to see him only shoot 30% from behind the arc, despite getting steady volume with nearly 5 attempts per game, which accounted for two-third of his total field goal attempts.

Part of the reason why his shooting failed to translate as expected, is that he was unable to make opposing defenders pay for taking away the arc. Holloway has always been somewhat undersized without the elite level explosiveness to compensate, but he had significant struggles finishing plays at the rim this year in the SEC, converting at just a 26% rate per Pivot Analysis. His pull-up game is plenty capable, but it was relatively non-existent this year with only 18 attempts in 35 games.

If there’s an area offensively that Holloway exceeded expectations it was in his ball security. While he’s much more of a combo-guard who bases his game around the threat of his jumper, he showed on-off ball versatility this year as he finished with a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, albeit rarely as the primary ball-handler.
Defensively, there were times where he was overmatched physically, specifically in isolations, and other times when he had some typical freshman growing pains. The metrics bare this out as Auburn’s defense was better with him off the floor, but there’s enough competitiveness and awareness that he should be fine long-term so long as he isn’t mismatched against notably bigger or more explosive guards.

Holloway is one of the best shooters in the class. He has a ton of gravity as a spot-up shooter, has deep range without altering his mechanics, can come off screens, and has a compact release. He’s also a tough shot-maker off the dribble who can create space with step-backs or by using his body, and does an excellent job of getting both feet set underneath him. While he came up the ranks as more of an undersized two-guard, he has shown real progression with his playmaking within the last year. He’s playing with pace in the open floor, starting to throw some impressive passes more frequently, and taking care of the basketball with better than a three-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio. After playing alongside Fears in high school and Dillingham in the EYBL, he has yet prove himself as a full-time handler and decision-maker against highest level competition though. Physically, he lacks great size, length, or sheer athleticism, but is competitive enough to compensate.