Freshman guard Tra Holder makes a layup against heavy defense on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils went on to win the game against OSU.
(J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)
The ASU men's basketball team is one in transition, both on the court and off it.
The Sun Devils lost their three top offensive options from a season ago and have only three seniors on the roster, giving younger players an opportunity to prove themselves night in and night out.
One player who has started to make the most of his chances is freshman guard Tra Holder.
At the beginning of the year, Holder appeared to be the heir-apparent to the departed Jahii Carson, who chose to forgo his final two years of eligibility to play professionally. The young guard impressed in the preseason but started the year off slow and appeared to be unsure of himself.
Holder said one of the hardest parts of his transition to college basketball is on the defensive end.
"One thing is I had to pay more attention on defense," Holder said. "Paying more attention to details made the offense easier. I know it's hard to hear it and visualize it, but it really paid off for me just being in the right spots on defense and getting easy buckets in the transition game."
This indecisiveness and the play of other guards, such as fellow freshman Kodi Justice, led coach Herb Sendek to cut Holder's minutes.
While Holder was on the bench, he said he noticed how aggressive Justice was while on the floor, and that's when he started to change his mindset moving forward.
"It's been a combination of things," Holder said. "When I was sitting down, I got to see how Kodi was being aggressive and taking open shots and knocking them down. So I said when I get that opportunity, I've got to do that to help benefit the team."
Since then, Holder has been staying after practice with junior guard Gerry Blakes and sophomore guard Chance Murray to shoot more after the other players have finished.
"We usually make 20 from each spot in like five spots," Holder said. "Then pull-ups, flip the screen, just shots I'll get in a real game."
In spite of Holder's struggles, he's had ongoing support from his team.
"Even when I was down, my coaches and teammates always had my back," Holder said. "They're still doing the same thing now and nothing's changed, so I'm just thankful for that."
The increased workload after practice appears to have helped. Since a five-game stretch in which Holder did not make a field goal, he scored in double figures in three of five games, including the last two.
Sendek said the coaching staff is pleased with the strides Holder has made in-season to develop his game.
"We couldn't be happier with the progress that he is making," Sendek said. "I think he's working really hard to improve as a shooter; he's making good decisions off of ball screens, learning how to play pick-and-roll basketball better, and I think he's giving a good effort on the defensive end of the floor as well."
One person who has been through the same struggle is senior forward Shaquielle McKissic. He said he's been encouraging Holder all season and he knew he'd catch on.
"I've always told him since the beginning of the year that one day it's just going to come on like a light bulb and you're never going to look back, and I definitely feel like he's hit that mark," McKissic said. "He's out there. He's confident. He's hitting shots."
Holder has modeled his playing style after guard Trey Burke of the Utah Jazz and Arizona senior guard T.J. McConnell. Holder has watched tapes of both of them and said he emulates their playing style while on the court.
"They had a lot of pick-and-roll situations and just reading the defense and seeing who's going to collapse on the big men," Holder said. "Just reading the defense and seeing what they do, studying the tape and trying to make my skill set better."
Sendek has high praise for Holder and has seen him blossom.
"He's as improved as any player I've seen in our conference," Sendek said. "If you go back and look where he was at the end of December and early January and you fast-forward to where he is now, he's made tremendous progress, and it's really a credit to his attitude and his work ethic."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger.
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