2. Saint Louis Billikens
Coach Travis Ford is having a strong season with the Saint Louis program and the only derailing moment this season has come as a result of a COVID pause. Ford’s squad is ranked in the top-30 on both ends of the floor and is certainly going to be a problem come March should they receive a tournament bid. The Billikens have been able to rely on strong guard play from the senior duo of Javonte Perkins and Jordan Goodwin to carry winning results.
However, Saint Louis also possesses a very strong backcourt group accompanied by freshman Gibson Jimerson, junior Demarius Jacobs, and sophomores Yuri Collins and Fred Thatch. Collectively, this team is very efficient scoring the ball at all three levels and play aggressive defense to create extra possessions off of turnovers. The fit for Holiman to thrive in these particular areas is very strong.
The added benefit for Holiman is that Coach Ford employs a guard rotation of at least six players receiving 15 minutes per game. Half of the current rotation on this year’s team will be gone by the time Holiman is expected to arrive on campus. While there is room for the development of other guards on the roster to anchor a large part of the rotation, there is also ample opportunity for him to arrive on campus and have a similar impact to Jimerson as a freshman.