Arizona basketball: Wildcats reach out to Delaware transfer Kory Holden
After losing in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, there's no doubt that the Arizona Wildcats' roster needs to improve. Hitting the recruiting trail is one way for them to do it, and reeling in a transfer or two is another.
And according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Arizona has reached out to Delaware Blue Hens transfer Kory Holden, a 6-foot-2 point guard that was second team all-Colonial this past season:
Arizona reached out to Delaware transfer Kory Holden tonight. Second-team All-CAA guard.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 24, 2016
Holden, who just finished his sophomore season, will have to sit out for a year before playing at his new school, but will then have two years of eligibility.
Holden was a high-volume scorer for the Blue Hens, averaging a team-high 17.7 points per game, while shooting 39.4 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from behind the arc this past season. He averaged 5.9 3-point attempts per game.
He was also an effective distributor, averaging 4.2 assists per game with a 29.8 assist percentage, while turning the ball over 2.9 times per game and putting up a very low 14.5 turnover percentage. For reference, Kadeem Allen's assist percentage this past season was 25.4 and he had 20.7 turnover percentage. Parker Jackson-Cartwright, on the other hand, had an assist percentage of 26.7 and a turnover percentage of 22.1. So, Holden had better distributing numbers than both Allen and PJC, but you also have to take into account that Holden was facing weaker competition.
And Holden's defensive stats are concerning. Though Delaware's defensive rating -- the number of points allowed per 100 possessions -- was 111.8 -- one of the worst figures in the entire country -- the team was even worse when Holden was on the floor (118.0). In fact, Holden easily had the worst defensive rating on the team. Of course, who Holden was on the floor with impacts his defensive rating, so it's not necessarily all on him, but that's not encouraging to see.
But, as a whole, point guard play was an issue this past season for Arizona and even though Holden can't play for two years, it surely would be a welcomed addition to have a proven point guard like him in the fold. After all, the last time Arizona had a sophomore point guard from a small school transfer in, it worked out pretty well.
Maryland, Miami (FL), and Virginia Tech are also seen to be suitors for Holden.
Here are some highlights from his freshman season, when he averaged 12.4 points and 5.0 assists per game:
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