Why DaRon Holmes II’s ‘long shot’ with Dayton is paying off: Vecenie’s Prospect Film Room

Throughout the season, The Athletic senior writer Sam Vecenie will interview and watch tape with some of the best prospects across college basketball, Europe, Overtime Elite and the G League. Together, they’ll dive deep into what makes them such an interesting prospect and analyze some of the best parts of their game. In the first interview of this series, Sam chats with Dayton center DaRon Holmes II. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Dayton center DaRon Holmes should be on the shortlist of any breakout player projection in college basketball. A 6-foot-10 big man, Holmes had a monster freshman season that saw him make the All-Defense team in the Atlantic 10, win Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year and earn second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors. Dayton coach Anthony Grant couldn’t have expected all of that so quickly, but it’s not a surprise that the twitchy big man out of Goodyear, Ariz., made an early impact. He was the highest-rated recruit to ever commit to Dayton back in 2020, a direct result of the Flyers’ success the previous year.

“My trainer, August Mendes, and I, we were looking over film in Arizona while we were working out,” Holmes told The Athletic. “And we were looking at Obi (Toppin)’s team in 2019-20, and the way they played, the style of play. Obviously, Obi played a big factor in it. So we actually reached out to Dayton, Coach (Ricardo) Greer talked to the coaching staff, and thankfully they were able to give me an offer.”

Yes, as Holmes tells it, he recruited Dayton, not the other way around. He — a top-50 recruit in the country — actually thought it was a “long shot” when he and his trainer originally called, but at the end of the day, he found his home — a school that has a lot of resources but isn’t necessarily a high-major.

“It’s hard, especially with social media, the big schools. It’s a lot that goes into it. Just learning that you’ve gotta be smart about where you go to college; it’s a big decision,” Holmes said. “I feel like some kids need to really take their time and look into what’s best for them system-wise. It could be that it’s a Power 5, high-major school. But it might not be.”

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Holmes has a really sharp basketball mind and is thoughtful about finding the best track for his career. Instead of watching guys like Kevin Durant and Paul George as many players his size do, he references watching tape of Draymond Green and Nic Claxton in order to pick up little tools. This summer, Holmes tried to improve his body, adding strength to a relatively skinny frame. He also worked on his shooting from the free-throw line, his confidence as a shooter and his comfort level with reads as a passing playmaker.

It’s easy to imagine a big season forthcoming for Holmes, and the NBA could beckon if things go well. The full version with us talking as tape is overlaid can be found here.

Here’s a condensed version of my conversation with Holmes:

One of college basketball’s best finishers

Vecenie: How would you describe your own game, before we start to really dive into the details?

Holmes: I just try to keep it simple. I really try to do a good job getting to the open spot. I try to use physicality when it’s needed. You know, I definitely love to have energy. I try to have a high IQ and make the right play.

Vecenie: I’m really glad you brought up that idea of just trying to get to the right spot. The thing that you get the most accolades for is your pick-and-roll ability, your ability to find that open space and, in general, your ability to finish. … You shot 65 percent last year. You actually finished sixth in the country in dunks. With this clip, you’re going to come up, you’re going to set off ball screens, then you’re going to come back and just look at how quickly you vacate that area. You see the little confusion between the two defenders in all of these actions. So you’re going to see two guys go toward No. 24 at the top. And you recognize that immediately and shoot to the rim before you even make contact with the man you’re supposed to be screening. And that’s just intuitive, right? You just see that there’s that confusion, and you just know to go?

Holmes: Like you said, I saw both defenders go to Kobe Elvis. So I just tried to have a fast twitch to where I can burst to the rim pretty fast. (Malachi Smith) passed it right at the right time to where I can just explode off the ground real quick, simple dunk, you know? So I just tried to read what the defense was doing.

Vecenie: This is just one of those high IQ plays that we’re going to talk about. And it’s something that stands out in all of your tape; you just know immediately when to roll to the rim. (Here is) another ball screen against UMass. Again, you just know immediately before you even make contact that you have this little open area. … What are you reading at the mesh point of the screen?

Holmes: At this type of screen, what I was reading is the defender decided to jump off and not really get hit by the screen. So I knew that (Smith) was going to have the advantage on the big man, so the big man would have to step up. Since he steps up, I knew I could beat the defender that was guarding in the slot area. I can beat him to the rim. And the help-side guy, he was a little late, so I knew if he threw it up, I’d be able to catch a lob or we’d have somebody open on the skip pass to the corner.

Vecenie: How much are you reading this backside guy, No. 23 on UMass? How much of timing your roll (to the rim) is dependent upon how late or how early or how attached he is to the shooter in the corner?

Holmes: I’m trying my best to read him pretty well. If he’s really attached to the corner, I try to roll as fast as I can. If he’s playing like in the middle, I try to fill it out before I just go, go, go.

Vecenie: These ball-screen reads, they are something that will translate to any level. But even more than that, I love your feel for giving your teammates space. You seem to have this understanding of when to time your rolls. Not only fast, but also when to slow it down. So you’re going to take a second (in this clip), instead of turning your hips and going because you see that (your guard) is snaking the screen, you wait. Then you see it, and you dive baseline. And you know that you have the advantage on this (defender). So what are you seeing?

Holmes: In this situation, I hit the guy a little bit, Elvis got them on his back, so since he got him on his back, I didn’t want to roll right into him. Coach Grant was talking to me about that, just making sure I stay out of the way when the guards go into the middle and it’s all clustered up. I found the opening (for the roll) over there on the side. And then I tried to just use a face move and go low. The Vanderbilt big is a little bit bigger (than me), so I felt like I had a quickness advantage just going by him like that. … I just tried to go by him and go up pretty fast.

Vecenie: Here we’re going to see some of the other stuff that is underrated with your game. You can handle the ball at a high level for a more traditional big. You’re going to get an iso in a mismatch with a smaller player. He’s going to try to (pass you off onto his big). He tries to make that auto switch, and there’s not really communication here. And once you get this pump fake, it goes to show your body control in your ability to handle the ball. How did you go about developing this level of balance, which is an advantage you have on a lot of centers?

Holmes: They were playing like a tandem defense. … They would put their two bigs at the free-throw line and at the bottom, so I was just trying to pause, read the floor really fast and play off the two feet with balance. I feel like that’s the best way for me to get off and get up on balance and get a good shot, so I just tried to pivot and stand my ground in place, play smart and slow and go up.

Underrated passing ability

Vecenie: Only 1.3 assists per game last year, but that underrated your passing. This is just something that you see all the time in the NBA. You see it with high-level spread offenses. … Is this a spread zone that Toledo is playing?

Holmes: Yeah, I think it’s kind of a zone that they’re playing right now. And I just saw that they’re both down, so I roll all the way down here, just go to the pocket, you know somebody’s going to be open. If I catch it in the middle of the floor, people are going to collapse. (Koby Brea’s) wide open; he’s a really good shooter.

Vecenie: This is a play where, teams in college and in the NBA, they’re going to put two on the ball, right? And you just immediately recognize there’s two on the ball, and that your move is the short roll to create a target. You have both kickouts to the left and the right. How do you decide on which kickout to hit?

Holmes: I just tried to read the defenders’ eyes. Maybe sometimes I might fake that pass and pass it same side. But I thought they were farther away from Koby, so I just thought he was open at the time, even though (Mustapha Amzil) could have been open, but they will collapse. I just try to read what’s open the most.

Vecenie: It feels like you’re always looking opposite corner as soon as you catch in that short-roll area. This isn’t an opposite corner kickout, but here, you’re going to screen and re-screen, you’re going to short roll. And then you’re just going to stop and survey what it looks like, right?

Holmes: Right. I’m trying to pause for a second, read the floor and just see where the defenders are. At this point … they were playing pretty down, and Toumani, he’s a really good shooter, and he can hit that shot. So I pass that out to him.

Vecenie: The thing that makes your ability to handle such a weapon is that you use it to collapse defenders. You actually put the ball on the deck once, and it forces those VCU guys to come into you, forces them to collapse into you. And then you have the wherewithal to actually read (the defense).

This final one … what are you seeing?

Holmes: In that situation, I’m seeing the help side. So when I catch it, I’m already thinking that I see like three, four guys up there. So somebody on our team is going to be open, and I’m thinking opposite is going to be open and it’s (Mustapha Amzil). So he made a great cut, and we got an easy 2 because of that.

Potential as a shooter

Vecenie: You only hit 58 percent from the foul line; you hit 29 percent on your jumpers. But (your jumper) is far from broken. (Mechanically), it’s pretty smooth. It’s pretty clean. You hit a couple of 3s last year, you hit a couple of midrange jumpers. … How are you going about developing your skill as a shooter?

Holmes: It’s really confidence, just being able to take that shot, you know? I’m a lot more confident than I was. Now I’m not going to come out shooting like a bunch of 3s. But at the same time, I’m going to be capable. I’m going to be able to knock that shot down now. So, just staying confident, because I feel like my form is pretty good. Just being able to not overthink it and just shoot it when it’s ready.

Vecenie: What are some of the things that you worked on cleaning up with it this summer?

Holmes: Mechanically, I just tried to keep 90 degrees in the elbow … make sure my feet are set, make sure I’m able to either get a good hop into it, or like a one-two step left-right. … Our coaching staff has done a great job helping me out with that type of stuff.

High-level defense

Vecenie: Do you like playing defense or offense more?

Holmes: Oh, that’s a good question. I like both. That’s hard. I love defense. I love defense.

Vecenie: I think that your superpower defensively is the ability to block jump shots. Your ability to block jump shots is something that I haven’t really seen since Robert Williams at Texas A&M, and obviously now, center for the Boston Celtics. It’s something that he had in terms of timing. This is such a fun highlight: You’re going to block the shot, and you’re just going to go. When you’re going up to try and block a jump shot, how are you getting that sense of timing down?

Holmes: What I try to do is beat the guards or whoever’s trying to shoot over me. I feel like my hands are decently quick for a big man, so I feel like my reaction time is pretty good. I try to keep my hands at a spot where I can reach it when he does shoot it, so when they do pull up, I just try to go to the ball; I don’t try to slide under him. Just trying to read where the ball is going to be. … It doesn’t have to be a hard block. Just alter the ball or just tip it to where it leads the other way.

Vecenie: Here’s another one. You’re containing in a drop-coverage ball screen, you’re semi-level at the screen, and this guy is going to spin and you’re just going to catch him. What are you reading?

Holmes: I’m going to push right, and then I get back and close out. I had a feeling he was going to take the drive and pump fake because I feel like he thought I was going to try to run him off the line, so he drove. He tried to spin it. I knew the type of spin he made when he leaned off of that leg; I felt like he was going to go up, so I looked at his eyes as he was shooting the ball. And then after that, I went straight for the ball and just tried to tip it up.

Vecenie: So you’re actually reading the type of spin in terms of where his feet are underneath him.

Holmes: Yes, sir. If you look at his leg, like the way he propels off of that last spin. I can tell that he’s about to go up for a shot. He’s not looking to pass it off of that, unless it’s like a last second. And you can look where he brings the ball with his hands at the same time, so I read his eyes, and it looks like he’s looking at the basket. And I just try to go for the ball as quick as I can.

Vecenie: One thing that’s really underrated about this play is just how balanced your closeout is. You’re stepping right, and then you drop your hips really quickly. Because you’re still on balance, you’re able to do that. … As you move up levels and you have to guard bigs in space, this is something you’re going to have an advantage on guys on because of your balance and quickness.

This next set of clips will be you containing ballhandlers. So you’re coming up, you recognize that he goes around the screen the other way and you’re just able to contain him. How have you worked on your lateral quickness and footwork?

Holmes: Our strength coach, we do a variety of things before we start lifting to work on our balance for those types of situations. And they also teach us on defense to make sure we keep our head and hands up when I feel like he’s going to shoot it. I just got to have my hands up to be ready. And then once again, I saw the way he like, I don’t know if it was a spin, but the way he went right before he was about to shoot, I could tell something was about to happen. So I just don’t try to foul them. But I try to lunge for the ball a little bit, like off that spin. I could tell, like that last time, he brought the ball down; he looked he was about to go up. I just sensed it.

Vecenie: Here, you’re going to get stuck on an island with Yuri Collins.

Holmes: And he’s really good too.

Vecenie: Yeah, one of the highest level (passers) in college basketball last season, really quick point guard. They set a high ball screen in the middle, and you’re just going to get stuck.

Holmes: Yeah. So with a lot of (guards), especially point guards, I try to see how much taller I am than them. So with Yuri, I feel like I had a good height advantage on him, so I try to bait him, you know? Act like I’m playing back like “Yeah, I’m scared of you driving on me.” Make him feel like he’s open. Then last second, I tried to go up there as he’s going up for the shot like quick feet. I really just try to bait in those situations where I get stuck with a guard like that, because they’re so quick. So the blow-by, you know, it’s a lot. It’s a mental game for these types of situations.

Vecenie: I think that what he’s reading in this game of cat-and-mouse is that you drop your right foot. And he’s thinking there’s no way you’re going to be able to recover, right? There’s just no way that you’re going to be able to get to his shot.

(In this clip), you do everything that you’re capable of all in one 15-second situation. It’s everything encapsulated. … What are you reading on your end?

Holmes: I read he was going to try to pull up when he took that first step. He’s dribbling, dribbling and off (that plant step) right there, I already knew he was going to shoot it, so I had my hands out a little bit. And once he shoots, I just try to have my hands get up as fast as I can. I just try to read those steps like that.

He grabs it. I’m just trying to stick with him at this point. It was a good pass out; I try to rotate over. He almost gets off the dunk. You know, I didn’t really jump or strip the ball. When I did get the ball off of the rebound, I realized that it just me and Toumani running, and we see we have an advantage. Usually I won’t try to push the break like that. I’ll just get it back to the point guard or a guard. But at this situation, I felt like we had an advantage, so I tried to just lead off Toumani, and he got the foul.

Vecenie: A man for Toledo (has inside leverage), so you have to respect this potential for a dump-off (into the dunker spot). So your arm’s extended, you’re trying to cut off the dump-off while also trying to make a play on the ball. You’re also trying to contest and finish (the possession). It’s a complicated (play).

This last one is a help-side read. You block a lot of jump shots, but you’re a terrific help-side defender too. Where are you looking?

Holmes: He drives it right. I see my man sneaks (behind me), but (Mustapha Amzil’s) man got open too, so I have to play two in this situation. I’m just reading them. As he makes that pass, I know he’s going to probably try to go up instead of trying to make the extra pass off of tendencies. I’m just trying to read the help side and go verticality with him.

Vecenie: How much are you reading into tendencies on scouting reports when you’re going into games?

Holmes: A lot. They do a great job with the scouting reports here. … I also watch a lot of film with Synergy, just seeing tendencies and certain things that different players like to do when they’re on the court, so that does alter my decision. I do make certain decisions based off of other players’ tendencies. If I see the same habits over and over, I know, “OK, I probably need to do this with this guy. Or I probably need to do this with this guy.”

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(Photo of Dayton’s DaRon Holmes II: Jeremy Reper / USA Today)