Charlotte Hornets to host Mercer guard Ria’n Holland for pre-draft workout
The Charlotte Hornets are set to bring in former Mercer guard Ria’n Holland for a pre-draft workout.
According to Flight 22 Basketball, Ria’n Holland will be working out for the Charlotte Hornets on Monday (June 11). The former Mercer guard is looking to improve his stock before the 2018 NBA Draft. He has already worked out for the Orlando Magic.
Although Holland isn’t considered a top prospect in this year’s draft class, he did put up fairly impressive numbers in college. The most likely scenario is that he goes undrafted but if he impresses a team during a workout, he could land on a summer league roster.
The Fayetteville, North Carolina native started his college career at Wichita State. He was a role player for Gregg Marshall’s team that was named the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champions and made it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. He then transferred to Mercer University where he played for two years.
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During the 2017-18 campaign, Ria’n averaged 17.6 points per game, 2.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 48.4% from the field, 45.9% from three and 83.6% from the free throw line. He was limited to only 18 games because of injury but still managed to put up a career-high in PPG. He also scored 20+ points seven times and 10+ points 17 times in 18 total appearances this past year.
He led the Bears in points per game, was third in assists per game and first in steals per game. His 17.6 PPG ranked second in the Southern Conference and his 45.9% shooting from deep led the Conference.
At 6’0 and 148 pounds, Holland is a bit undersized for the NBA. He will definitely be a point guard at the next level which means that he will need to improve his playmaking skills and passing ability. If he were to put on some more muscle, it could go a long way in furthering his development.
Ria’n has proven that he can put the ball in the basket but it’s unclear how his scoring ability will transition to the next level. His outside shooting may be his biggest asset.
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It will be interesting to see if the Charlotte Hornets or another team drafts Holland or brings adds him to their summer league squad. The 23-year old’s pro career is set to take off after back to back impressive years of 17+ PPG with Mercer.