Few juniors, third-year university players, hope for a good place in the Draft. DaRon Holmes II hopes to follow in the recent footsteps of the Splash Brothers Stephen Curry And Klay Thompsonof Khris Middletonof Jalen Brunson or even Nikola Vucevic, so many future All-Star players who arrived later in the NBA. At almost 22 years old, Holmes II has established himself as a truly good university player (in the 2nd best five of the NCAA season), but with Dayton in the less experienced Atlantic 10 conference. If his qualities seem sufficiently proven to join Can the professional world use them as weapons at the higher level?
Profile
Job : Power forward / Pivot
Size : 2m05
Weight : 107 kg
Team : Dayton Flyers
Stats 2023/24: 20.4 points at 54.4%, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.1 blocks in 32.4 minutes
Strong points
– The offensive palette. DaRon Holmes II can do just about everything on offense, and in very different registers. His post game is quite rich, while also bringing his mix of power and touch to the rim after setting the screen. The interior has also forged in recent months an interesting start to shooting (38.6% at 3-points with 2.5 attempts per game), a good idea for a player efficient in getting free throws (8 .8 per game, 4th in NCAA, at 71.3%).
– Counter qualities. In three years of college, Holmes II always averaged between 1.9 and 2.3 blocks per game. He may not be the tallest of the big men, but he makes up for it with very good timing, especially in defensive assists.
Weak points
– What is his position in the NBA? His size was perhaps enough in the NCAA, but his lack of centimeters should be felt much more in the pros. And if his offensive profile leaves hope of a transition towards a more elusive strong winger, his slowness in lateral movements seems too important at this stage not to be detrimental to the wide defensively.
Comparison
Small but talented in attackHolmes II has the air of Naz Reid or Jalen Smith. The risk is also to veer towards a Montrezl Harrell at the end of his career, a player with certain qualities but less and less adapted to the current game.
Prognosis
End of first round. ESPN ensures that the player has canceled several “workouts”, a sign that his name has probably already been checked by a franchise. Holmes II has every interest in landing on a team where he will initially be given a mission role to find his place, like Denver in 28th place, or even Washington in 26th.
