Aaron Holiday
Position: Guard
Height: 6-0
Weight: 187
School: UCLA
Sixers fans should recognize the name. Aaron Holiday is the brother of former Sixers first-round pick Jrue Holiday and Bulls wing Justin Holiday. Aaron is the youngest - and smallest - of the three.
A three-year player at UCLA, Holiday developed into one of the most prodigious scorers and shooters in Bruins history. He was the first UCLA player to lead the Pac 12 in scoring (20.3 points per game) since some guy named Reggie Miller. For his efforts, he was named to the All-Pac 12 first team.
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For his college career, Holiday averaged 14.3 points and 4.7 assists per contest in 101 games (65 starts). He also hit 180 treys, shooting 42 percent from three.
Strengths
Holiday's most obvious and translatable NBA attribute is his jump shot. He shot over 40 percent in all three of his seasons at UCLA and is capable off the dribble, off screens and in catch-and-shoot opportunities. He also has NBA range and is not afraid to pull up from any spot on the floor.
For his size, he's a good, creative finisher and features a pretty nice floater. He understands how to attack defenses, especially in the pick and roll. He's excellent at changing his pace and lulling defenders to sleep. He's a good and willing passer. Defensively he has excellent instincts. He's aggressive and does well at getting his hands in passing lanes.
Weaknesses
Size is a huge issue for Holiday. The other big issue is, he's just an OK athlete that lacks quickness and explosion while driving to the basket. Defense is always going to be an issue as he'll struggle to guard some of the bigger and more explosive point guards in the league. He also struggled with turnovers.
NBA comparison
Aaron Brooks, most recently of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both players make up for their size with excellent perimeter shooting. Brooks was more explosive coming out of Oregon, but also has a good change of pace to confuse opponents. Holiday has better feel and vision. Brooks has struggled defensively at the NBA level and Holiday will likely encounter the same issues.
How he'd fit with Sixers
It's tough to project Holiday to the Sixers. His shooting would play well here and playing with a 6-foot-10 point guard would certainly help his cause, but where would he fit? He won't be a starter right away and the Sixers already feature T.J. McConnell off the bench. McConnell provides energy and top-notch defense that Holiday cannot.
Draft projection
The modern NBA is all about the three so teams will be interested in Holiday as a backup point guard and shooter off the bench. He could go anywhere from the late teens to the mid-20s.
