Rashaan Holloway, right, of UMass, eyes an incoming pass beside Kendall Pollard, of Dayton, last season at the Mullins Center. GAZETTE STAFF / JERREY ROBERTS
UMass center Rashaan Holloway (45) stops BYU forward Luke Worthington (41) from scoring during the second half of an NCAA basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, in New York. BYU won 68-66. AP
@MattVautourDHG
By MATT VAUTOUR
AMHERST
The final chapter of the Rashaan Holloway story is going to come down to motivation.
The UMass big man was declared academically ineligible Monday, ending his junior season.
Entering 2017-18, Holloway figured to be the most important player on the UMass roster. While the Minutemen were left with limited depth after several players transferred, Holloway offered a piece few teams had an answer for. Athletic and nimble at 6-foot-11 310 pounds, he forced opponents to adjust their defenses to account for him.
Foul trouble limited his production this season. He averaged 9.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.73 blocked shots in 15 games (13 starts). But even when he wasn’t producing numbers, opponents’ need to prepare and account for him opened things up for other players.
Neither fellow junior Malik Hines nor sophomore Chris Baldwin can affect the game the way Holloway did. At least they haven’t yet.
Holloway’s absence was glaring against both Rhode Island and Saint Louis, and will likely be a factor down the road.
His career will be defined by how he comes back from this. He’ll need to be motivated in the classroom, obviously. If he bogeyed last semester, he’ll have to birdie this one to get things straight.
Presuming he gets eligible, he’ll be joining a different team than the one he left. UMass will have at least six new players — four transfers and two freshmen — joining the roster. There will be competition for playing time in a system that is a lot more up-tempo than the one the Minutemen are currently playing.
Holloway won’t practice the rest of this year, but he’ll have individual instruction sessions with the coaching staff, and both conditioning and weight training sessions with strength coach Coty Greene.
How well he takes care of himself and stays in shape will not only affect his physical ability to play, but it will send a message to the coaching staff about the sincerity of his intentions.
That’s presuming he wants to come back. He could choose to start his professional career right away either in the G League or overseas. There’s certainly pros and cons to doing that.
Obviously there’s immense value to completing his degree. His chances of making the NBA certainly seem slim right now. He has the potential for an NBA body, given his strength, frame and athleticism. But he has too much weight and not enough stamina to make it right now. Not every G League or overseas team is likely to have the workout facilities and nutritional help that would allow him to get in the shape he needs to be in.
On top of that, he’s not a traditional European-style big man in terms of his skill or playing style which could limit interest.
That said, Holloway has a young child and a paycheck could be appealing in the short term.
MY TOP 10 — 1. Villanova, 2. Virginia, 3. Purdue, 4. Duke, 5. Kansas, 6. West Virginia, 7. Michigan State, 8. Xavier, 9. Cincinnati. 10. North Carolina.
For the rest of my Top 25, visit the College Hoop Week Guide on gazettenet.com’s UMass Sports Blog.
GAMES OF THE WEEK:
No. 2 Virginia at No. 4 Duke, Saturday, 2 p.m. CBS — If styles make fights, this is a doozy.
According to KenPom.com’s formulas, the Blue Devils are the No. 2 offensive team in the nation and Cavaliers boast the No. 1 defense.
Trae Young vs. — Oklahoma’s outstanding freshman point guard has a pair of terrific one-on-one showdowns this week.
On Wednesday, he and the No. 12 Sooners host No. 5 Kansas (7 p.m., Norman) and standout guard Devonte Graham.
On Saturday, he’ll tangle with projected lottery pick Collin Sexton and Alabama (2:15 p.m. in Tuscaloosa on ESPN).
BUZZER BEATER — There’s more tradition in the ACC-Big 10 challenge, but the fact that the SEC and Big 12 play their head-to-head conference showdown in January adds something to this Saturday’s event.
In addition to Oklahoma vs. Alabama mentioned above, the event is highlighted by Kentucky at No. 7 West Virginia (7 p.m. ESPN) and Texas A&M at No. 5 Kansas (4:30 p.m. ESPN).
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage
