Age

20.5

Height

6'10''

Weight

220

Workload

MIN%

85

USG%

27

TS%

62

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

23.6

REB

10.4

AST

2.2

STL

0.98

BLK

2.52

TOV

1.9

Efficiency

RIM FG%

68

MID FG%

39.5

3PT FG%

31.6

FT%

67

Jump to full report

Report by: Joe Hulbert

DaRon Holmes II

Big Dayton Flyers

A two-way center with plus play finishing, rim running and versatile interior defense

Age

20.5

Height

6'10''

Weight

220

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

23.6

REB

10.4

AST

2.2

STL

0.98

BLK

2.52

Positions Defended

Offensive Role

 

Defensive Role

   

Meet DaRon Holmes.

A second-year player of the Dayton Flyers out of Florida, DaRon Holmes has developed into one of the more intriguing big men in the 2023 Draft Class. In his first year, he quickly rose to become Dayton’s best overall player. In his second year, his usage skyrocketed from 19 percent to 27 percent but there wasn’t much of a drop in efficiency. The Flyers had injuries throughout the year and went through a period of the season without a recognized point guard, but Holmes managed to thrive as a post-hub and inside offensive threat despite a tough situation.

Holmes’ defense is potentially what will set him apart at the next level. The Flyers were a highly athletic team this year and Holmes as the anchor helped a ton due to his positioning, foot speed and overall feel for the game as a defender. He has legitimate coverage versatility and at times Dayton was creative with their coverages.

Offensive Game

Holmes was the number one option for the Flyers. Offensively, he ranked in the 91st percentile in the half-court. Most of this was fuelled by his threat as a roll-man and as a post-up threat. He ranked in the 77th percentile in efficiency on post-ups. As the year progressed, Anthony Grant began to run a five-out offense, pushing for empty side actions and low post position. Holmes is a powerful interior finisher who was in the 86th percentile for overall efficiency at the rim. He’s comfortable going either side during his post-ups and has flashed some nice moves going to his left. This was a key development because teams began to try and take away his right-hand side. He showed enough versatility to be able to punish this extreme coverage.

Holmes has played in a diverse 5-out scheme so he has the familiarity of getting his touches without having things spoon-fed or force-fed to him, a very intelligent schematic player. He’s an efficient roll man who thrives against traps, as he displays good body control to ensure the opposition’s low-man doesn’t draw a charge. This links back to his versatile finishing package. Overall a very reliable roll-man with good timing and good screen-setting.

A weakness of Holmes has been assertiveness at times. He would sometimes catch the ball too far away from an advantageous position, especially on the sideline and low block. This became a larger issue because he was not particularly efficient on touch shots. He generally performed better the closer he was to the rim. This will be a key area of development for his rookie season if teams want to give him a more diverse offensive game. However, his ability to get to the rim from the short-mid range area is generally very good. He may eventually have some shooting potential down the line but his play finishing and off-ball movement is the key selling point early in his career.

Holmes’ passing is also a skill that should translate better to the next level with more spacing and off-ball activity in NBA Offensive schemes. He sees the floor well and the main area he will add value in this sense at the pro-level is with short-roll playmaking and passing out of double teams. The latter is extremely enticing if an NBA team views him as a switch punisher and a bailout option at the dunker spot.

Defense

Holmes projects to be an extremely versatile defender who opens up a playbook. Dayton’s athleticism meant they switched with regularity, and Holmes definitely has the potential to do that himself. His interior defense is excellent, his footwork and angles meaning he’s very good in ICE Coverage. This also opens up the possibility for him to be a hedge big with some regularity. Wherever Holmes has played for Dayton, he’s been a hugely impactful defender.

Bread and butter in the NBA is pick-and-roll defense, and Holmes should thrive here. He’s mobile and Anthony Grant has exposed him to pretty much every type of coverage in the book. I’d say his best coverages are switches on middle pick-and-rolls and ICE defense. As a switch big he’s been very effective at the collegiate level, though he will of course be tested further by NBA level ball handlers. His agility and movement skills are the real swing factor for how well he does in such a scenario.

Holmes’ timing is impeccable on blocks, especially in ICE and drop defense. He uses his wingspan well and is able to commit to blocks without having to step too far towards the ball handler which reduces the possibility of him getting into foul trouble. He also rotates extremely well and is generally in the right place at the right time.

As a Hedge Big, Holmes is decisive and that agility shows up in his ability to quickly change direction after he has deterred the ball handler from turning the corner.

Overall, I expect Holmes to be a good contributor to an NBA team in his early years. He’s extremely well-coached and ready for whatever scheme he lands in. An ideal spot would be a 5-out offense with him given opportunities to flash his playmaking in delay or motion strong style sets. Defensively his scheme versatility will surprise whatever he team he lands with. I like San Antonio, Portland and Miami as landing spots. The biggest tests and swing factors for me are how he handles physicality, and whether his left-sided counters work against better defense in the post. But he has the playmaking and offensive feel to survive at the next level regardless.

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