On3's Justin Hokanson called CBS Sports' Seth Davis' claim that Aden Holloway left Bruce Pearl's Auburn basketball program for Nate Oats's at Alabama because the Crimson Tide offered more in NIL earnings "incredible fiction.
"Whew, what incredible fiction written by Seth. I have reported about this situation a ton at Auburn Live from the jump," Hokanson prefaced before saying, "Maybe Seth should refrain from speaking when he 'doesn’t know the details.'
"Auburn was looking to improve at point guard after the season. Period. JP Pegues was their top target when he entered the portal. Aden and Tre Donaldson were well aware that Auburn was going into the portal for a point guard. If Aden or Tre wanted to stay and compete, fine. If they wanted to leave, that was fine, too. Stay and compete, or go, but Auburn was focused on improving the roster. They weren’t begging anyone to stay, I promise you that. Auburn’s roster improved with the addition of Pegues. If Holloway gets it together at Alabama, good for him, but what’s posted below is nonsense."
Aden Holloway may not be featured more with Alabama than his Auburn basketball role
Holloway's decision to transfer may not pan out for the point guard as he expected it to. If Mark Sears doesn't get a guaranteed contract from an NBA team, he could return to Tuscaloosa for a fifth collegiate season and a third at Alabama; possible because his freshman season was in 2020-21, giving him an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19.
Holloway didn't want to compete with the portal PG Pearl was going to bring in, which turned out to be JP Pegues. Unfortunately, he probably had a better chance of outplaying Pegues for the starting job than he would the returning fan-favorite Sears.
The grass isn't always greener on the other side, and Holloway seems destined to find that out firsthand. For all we know, he may have simply not liked how Pearl ran his program, or other players in the locker room.
But if he left for a bigger opportunity, he may actually end up disappointed in the smaller role Oats has for him than what Pearl gave him.