Aden Holloway made the controversial and rare decision to transfer from Auburn to Alabama after a disappointing freshman season on the Plains. That decision is paying off in a big way for both Holloway and the Crimson Tide.
Holloway came to Auburn as a 5-star recruit and heralded as one of the best shooters in the country coming out of high school. He started his Auburn career with a big performance in the season opener against Baylor, but struggled once the season got to SEC play and lost his confidence.
He finished his freshman season shooting just 31.8% from the field and 30.2% from three. His confidence was shot, not aided by his head coach Bruce Pearl's comments about shooting less in late January.
Holloway entered the portal and his fit with Nate Oats and Alabama was an easy match, despite crossing the rivalry lines.
Holloway needed confidence, and there's not a better coach in basketball in instilling confidence in his players than Oats. It was a bit of a struggle early in the season for Holloway as he found his place in the offense and learned not to press and let the game come to him.
Aden Holloway: "Last year was abnormal for me. It was completely downhill and it was tough getting back up."
— Nick Kelly (@_NickKelly) January 22, 2025
Holloway said the coaching staff and his teammates have put a lot of confidence in him
Since the start of SEC play, Holloway has hit 13-of-23 (56.5%) from three. He's up to 41.3% for the season. He connected on 4-of-6 attempts in Tuesday's win over Vanderbilt on this way to 22 points.
Perhaps the biggest reason for Holloway's improvement from three has been how much better he has gotten at finishing at the rim.
At the rim:
23-24: 35.7%
24-25: 58.1%
Other twos:
23-24: 32.3%
24-25: 69.6%
Holloway's runner in the lane has been a weapon. He's also clearly studied Jahvon Quinerly's "jelly fam" tape and has put in a lot of work at finishing around the rim. That has forced defenses away from pressing him too much outside the arc because he has been killing defenses at the rim.
Holloway's emergence has been huge for Alabama. In March, it all comes down to guard play. With Holloway looking like the player he was promised to be, Alabama has three really good on-ball options with preseason National Player of the Year Mark Sears and freshman Labaron Philon.
Holloway's shooting is sorely needed on a team that hasn't hit shots from deep at a high percentage this season, and lost a career 40%+ shooter from deep in Latrell Wrightsell to a season-ending injury.
Basketball is notoriously fickle. His shooting could swing back in the other direction at some point. He's not going to shoot 56% from three the rest of the way, but Holloway has fit in this system exactly like many thought he would.