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Five-star prospect Ron Holland announced Friday that he is decommitting from Texas and reopening his recruitment after ranking as the No. 6 overall prospect in the Class of 2023, according to 247Sports. The news comes as a blow to Texas’ 2023-24 roster outlook less than 24 hours after the Longhorns landed a commitment from the No. 2 ranked transfer of the offseason in former Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas.
“I want to take this time to thank head coach RT (Rodney Terry) and the entire Texas coaching staff for their consideration, I would also like to thank the Longhorn Nation for all their love and support,” Holland wrote on Twitter. “While this has been a difficult process, I have decided to de commit from (the) University of Texas and re-open my recruitment. Teas will still be one of my top schools of choice.”
Holland’s decision comes just two weeks after fellow former five-star Texas commitment AJ Johnson announced he plans to play professionally in Australia next season instead of joining the Longhorns. Their decisions place a higher degree of significance on the upcoming NBA Draft decisions of Texas underclassmen Tyrese Hunter and Dillon Mitchell.
Both players were starters on the 2022-23 team that reached the Elite Eight and have opted to go through the NBA’s pre-draft process. Hunter, a guard, ranks No. 41 in the CBS Sports NBA Draft Prospect Rankings, while Mitchell, a forward, ranks No. 30. With starting forward Dylan Disu returning, Abmas on the way and Virginia transfer center Kadin Shedrick committed, coach Rodney Terry has at least part of his nucleus figured out.
But getting at least one of Hunter and Mitchell back now seems vital after the decisions of Holland and Johnson. Before committing to Texas, Holland also considered Arkansas and UCLA as finalists. The coach who he originally decided to play for at Texas, Chris Beard, is now the coach at Ole Miss.
