– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEW YORK — Auburn’s Aden has found college basketball, at least for the first three games of his collegiate career, more like the Garden of Eden and, fittingly, continued his stellar play in the city known as the Big Apple.
Aden Holloway, the Tigers’ freshman point guard, continued his impressive start to the season, posting 15 points and six assists in leading Auburn to a comfortable 83-59 victory over Notre Dame in the second semifinal game of the Legends Classic inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Complementing the outside game of Holloway, senior post player Johni Broome added 15 points and six rebounds as five different players scored in double figures for the Tigers.
Auburn will play St. Bonaventure for the championship tomorrow evening after the Bonnies defeated Oklahoma State in the first semifinal.
A five-star recruit who’s tasked in replacing 2023 All-SEC Second Team selection Wendell Green Jr., Holloway’s arrival on The Plains is expected to bring backcourt stability to a team that both heavily relied on Broome’s dominance in the paint and struggled with perimeter shooting last season. After just three games, and two against Power 6 teams, Holloway has more than met expectations, starting with a 19-point, six-assist effort in a loss to then No. 20 Baylor in Sioux Falls. Holloway made big shot after big shot in the second half against the Bears, belying his inexperience at this level of basketball.
Making his first ever collegiate start, Holloway knocked down four of his five attempts from three-point range — two in each half. It was Holloway’s third-straight game in double figures to begin his career, and for the season, the freshman is averaging 15 points per game and shooting 11-of-21 (52.4 percent) from long range.
“Aden, he’s got some special now,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “He’s going to make some tough [shots], he’s going to make some four-point plays … every time he shoots it, I think it’s going in.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Thursday evening’s contests, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Danny Suriel. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 12 pictures in total.
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