As basketballs were bouncing, sneakers were squeaking and directions were given, the backdrop of Ron Holland’s workout on this particular day was narrated by the raw yet delightful voice of Teddy Pendergrass, the legendary soul singer whose vocal chords were strong enough to lift a car, whose music sends tingles down spines.
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Holland’s trainer, Charles Hill, provided the vibes, and Holland rolled with it. He’d grown up gravitating toward R&B and soul music because that is what his parents and uncles listened to. He hadn’t considered it in this setting, though. On this day, he let it ride. It hasn’t left his workout rotation since.
“That was probably one of the best workouts I’ve ever had in my life,” Holland, the Detroit Pistons’ top pick (fifth overall) in the 2024 NBA Draft, said at his introductory news conference Friday. “I just continued with that. I really like to get myself going listening to a lot of R&B.”
Welcome to Motown, Ron Holland.
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) June 28, 2024
Aside from his vintage musical taste, the 18-year-old, whose favorite Pendergrass song is “Come Go with Me,” likes proving critics wrong, like the ones who don’t think he should have been a top-five pick or that he can shoot. He appreciates adversity and the experiences that come with it, like last year’s abysmal season with the G League Ignite. It’s part of why Holland is eager to be a Piston. He’s aware of how bad Detroit was last season and how bad it’s been for several seasons. That was before he got here, though.
Holland is already thinking about how he can change it.
“I think me bringing my winning mindset and style here, I feel like, like I said before, is going to help this franchise a lot,” Holland said. “And I’m super excited and just ready to get things going.”
In an NBA Draft void of much star potential, according to many evaluators, Holland carried as much upside as any prospect. For starters, he’s only a teenager, one who averaged close to 20 points per game in the G League playing against grown men. He’s a freak athlete who doesn’t take extra steps or dribbles to get past you and slams the basketball like it stole his girlfriend. Holland is a junkyard dog defensively. He actually enjoys rebounding. Also, in talking to people, Holland is wise beyond his years.
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“I’m very, very comfortable with this young man to my left,” Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said while sitting to Holland’s right. “We talked about the things that are really important to add to this culture, to add to this organization, to bring to the city and whether that’s through free agency, whether that’s through trades, whether that’s through the draft. We went through an internal process on what’s important. And as I’ve said before, he checks a ton of the boxes. So I think there’s a lot of things that he brings at an elite level to us right now.”
There is the question about Holland’s shooting, particularly on this team, which has several young prospects still struggling to put the ball in the basket from distance with any consistency. Holland, who converted on less than 30 percent of all jumpers last season with Ignite, has heard the talk. He understands it too. The numbers are what they are. However, it doesn’t seem to bother him nor Langdon.
Why?
“I’m a confident shooter,” Holland said. “The numbers show I can’t shoot, but I’m not worried about that. I know what feels good to me. I’ve seen myself shoot really good, and I’ve seen myself shoot bad. Once I get the consistency, I’m going to be one of the best shooters.”
As for Langdon, Holland’s jump shot isn’t too worrisome because he trusts the worker Holland is and the reinforcements brought with him from New Orleans.
“We hired Fred Vinson for a reason, to take chances like this,” Langdon said of the Pistons’ new assistant with the shot-doctor reputation. “If his shot hits, he’s going to be a real player.”
What also endeared Holland to Langdon is that, “he knows who he is.” Shortly after being drafted, Holland spoke to the media and was asked what players he models his game after and who he watches film on. He didn’t say Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan or LeBron James, the usuals for many. He said Mikal Bridges and Jaylen Brown, two top-30 players who have earned their bones being really good defenders as well as carrying the ability to put the ball in the basket at a high level.
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There was a serious tone in Holland’s voice each time he talked about his defense. He takes pride in it, and the Pistons need more players who do. The shooting may or may not come in time, but that’s not all Detroit needs to turn the corner as a franchise. The defense was putrid last season. Turning defense into easy buckets makes it so that it’s not pivotal every player on the floor has to shoot.
“Ron embodies what we want all of our players to be here in the City of Detroit, for our fans and for the city … hard work, highly competitive and a high-character young man that comes from a big family,” Langdon said. “We feel he has the ability to impact both ends of the floor at a high level, and he’s scary in transition. And I think all those qualities really have the ability to move our team up in the future. And it’s what we’re looking for, what we’re looking for from our players. … The people that you speak about, that you want to play like, you’re a defensive-first guy, team-first, you want to win, those type of things, and then you build on that as you get better at that. And those are the things that really intrigued us about adding you to our organization.”
Soul music? Proving people wrong? Defense? Tough?
Holland is at the right place.
(Photo of Holland: Michael LeBrecht / NBAE via Getty Images)
