UCLA Basketball: Aaron Holiday is more important than ever
UCLA Basketball got some welcome news when Aaron Holiday announced he was coming back to school. What will his role be in 2017-18?
The 2017-18 UCLA Basketball team follows a tough act. Their predecessors won 31 games and boasted the most efficient offense in college basketball. Gone from that team are five key players who represented 72% of the offense.
RELATED: Under Armour reveals the new UCLA Basketball uniforms
A highly touted six-man recruiting class bursting with length and athleticism will try to replace them. The 2017-18 squad is not only deeper but is also more inexperienced than their 2016-17 counterparts. Luckily, Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh opted out of the NBA draft and returned to school.
Related Story: UCLA Basketball: Looking towards 2018-19 recruting
If UCLA Basketball is to be successful in 2017-18, then Holiday has to play a central role. Last season, he was college basketball’s de facto sixth man of the year and provided a spark off the bench.
More from Go Joe Bruin
- UCLA Football: It’s time for the nation to meet Dante Moore
- UCLA Football: Where are they ranked heading into week 4
- UCLA Football: Position battle breakdown for Utah showdown
- UCLA vs. Utah: Location, time, prediction, and more
- UCLA Football: Highlights from Chip Kelly’s appearance on the Jim Rome Show
This year, he is the only returning player with ball handling experience and will be a starter. Five-star recruit Jaylen Hands is the only other ball handler on the roster and will join Holiday in the starting rotation.
Hands is a very gifted prospect but he isn’t reigning NBA Summer League MVP Lonzo Ball. Ball’s dominance as a freshman was an exception to the rule.
Hands will be very good but needs time to adjust to the speed of the college game. As Hands’ running mate, Holiday has to take some pressure off the freshman for UCLA Basketball to be successful.
Holiday is at his best when he is moving downhill and attacking gaps. He is able to use his athleticism, savvy and strength to put pressure on the defense. Here is what he can do as a lead guard in the half court.
#UCLAbasketball will need more of this from Aaron Holiday this season pic.twitter.com/0tWgLImrXD
— Thoughtfulness and run on sentences (@shortcorner19) August 20, 2017
Should Hands progress ahead of schedule, Holiday slots in at shooting guard. Holiday sports a 41% career three-point shooting percentage and will keep the floor spaced.
Steve Alford likes to bring shooters off screens and Holiday thrives in those kind of sets. Holiday averaged less than four three-point shots a game last season, but those attempts will go up this season. More three-point attempts per game for Aaron Holiday is a good thing.
Holiday is a career 41% shooter from deep. He is especially accurate in catch and shoot situations. pic.twitter.com/uTCcpJg1Qj
— Thoughtfulness and run on sentences (@shortcorner19) August 20, 2017
Along with ball handling and shooting, Holiday is UCLA Basketball’s best returning perimeter defender. His pairing with a freshman in the backcourt means that he will be called upon to defend some of the Pac-12’s best guards.
Next: Battle for LA: Josh Rosen versus Sam Darnold
So what does UCLA Basketball expect from Aaron Holiday this season? Not much. Just defend the best guard on the other team, run the offense, lead the fast break, play off the ball when Jaylen Hands is running the offense, hit some threes and be the coach on the floor. In other words, nothing at all.