Jared CohenA day after the 2014-15 college basketball season came to an end, Arizona Wildcat sophomore forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson announced after having discussions with his family and coaches, that he will declare for the NBA Draft.
Hollis-Jefferson while with Arizona for two seasons accomplished a great deal. They did not lose a home game at McKale Center, won two Pac-12 regular season titles, one Pac-12 Tournament title, have been ranked in the top-10 virtually the entire time and two tournament runs all the way to the Elite Eight. As Sean Miller mentioned, the only thing they fell short of was having the chance to play this past weekend in the National Championship game.
“To start off, I just want to say thank you to the city of Tucson and our great fans for everything over the last two years,” Hollis-Jefferson said on Tuesday. “It’s not every day that a kid from where I grew up gets blessed with an opportunity like this.
The 6-7 swingman from Chester, PA led the Wildcats in rebounds (6.8) and blocks (0.8) in 2014-15 while ranking third in scoring (11.2) and steals (1.2). He recorded a team-high four double-doubles, giving him six for his career, and led UA in blocks 15 times, rebounds 14 times and scoring seven times.
But where he had made his mark the most with the Wildcats over a two year span is what he did on the defensive side of the court as he was constantly asked to guard the opposing team’s best player which meant he would guard anyone from a point guard to a power forward. His efforts were rewarded with First Team All-Defensive honor from the Pac-12 this season.
Hollis-Jefferson has the skill set to compete at the next level and will be an asset with his ability to defend, rebound and score around the hoop. It is the rest of the game that will be a work in progress but judging from the improvements he made from his freshman through his sophomore seasons, he is well on his way.
