MettaWorldPanda wrote:The more video I watch the more more I love DaRon Holmes over Kel'el Ware. Holmes just has that attitude and dog in him while Ware seems to coast a lot with a very meh type of body language. Also looks very soft when it comes to screening and fighting down low. Holmes on the other hand looks like a pure junk yard dog with an offensive skill set. When I think of a rotation big that can fit with both Bam and Jovic then Holmes 100% looks to be at the top of that list.
The unique fit with our present and future core frontcourt players is what I think makes DaRon potentially more valuable to Miami than to the average team drafting (I think the Nuggets and Kings would love to have him). I believe DaRon is AT LEAST as mobile as a perimeter defender as Niko. And DaRon has innate ability as a rim protector. DaRon averaged the 2nd most STOCKS (3.0) of any college prospect in this draft (among the 70+ players listed on The Ringer's draft guide), behind only Ryan Dunn (3.6). Holmes has a top 5 block percentage among the college prospects in this draft:
Clingan - 11.4%
Dunn - 10.4%
Bona - 8.8%
Missi - 7.3%
Holmes - 7.2%Edey - 6.9%
Ware - 6.5%
Post - 6%
Hall - 5.6%
Flip - 5.3%
After Dunn, Holmes and Bona have shown the best perimeter defense of this group IMO. Holmes was doing all of this (conference DPOY) while also being his team's primary source of offense and expanding to a new perimeter game with more creating (conference POTY).
A guy that can serve as the rim protector, hang on the perimeter (great balance & body control), hit the 3, screen & finish as a rim runner, play with either Bam or Jovic in the frontcourt, AND has shown some advanced ballhandling, passing and creation chops for a big sounds pretty damn good to me.
He doesn't have the length to make you salivate as your team's top center or the explosive athleticism to thrill anyone into thinking he's the next star PF. But damn he brings a lot to the table in an era where having a versatile and deep frontcourt rotation is paramount.
I'm confident that Holmes will be a grinder at the next level--which means always incrementally improving and mastering his given role. If you give him more info and inputs, he will make the most of it.
For anyone wanting to get a deeper look into Holmes' game, I recommend checking out this breakdown he did last offseason with Sam Vecenie. That was before he added the 3 pt shot to his profile. In particular, I'm impressed by the thought he puts into his game and his breakdown of how he defends starting at 22:19 (clips show promising perimeter defense, too).
You all already know he's one of my guys
