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The first member of “Guard U” has found his new team. Former ASU guard Tra Holder has signed with Fiat Torino of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A league, Sportando reported Friday.
The team is coached by Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Brown, who led Kansas to a national championship in 1988 and the Detroit Pistons to a NBA Finals victory in 2004, and features former NBA first-round picks Royce White and Carlos Delfino.
Holder improved in each of his four years at ASU, guiding the Sun Devils to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014 his senior year. Working in the backcourt with fellow senior guards Kodi Justice and Shannon Evans II, the 6-foot-1, 165-pound guard averaged 18.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game last year.
Holder was apart of the Philadelphia 76ers summer league roster, but the team waived him before the event started.
While watching Evans play with the Houston Rockets at summer league, ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said that he gave the trio of former Sun Devils advice as they go through the post-collegiate process.
“Just to continue to focus on getting better and competing the way they competed for me at Arizona State,” Hurley said. “And Tra and Shannon and Kodi will be fine, just hoping for all of them to get good situations, good starting points for the next phase.”
Evans and Justice are also likely to sign with an international team. At summer league, Evans said he’s talking to a “whole bunch of teams,” noting that he and his agent are in constant contact exploring possible professional routes.
Though they may not be able to show their talents on a NBA stage right away, Hurley believes his former backcourt brings an extensive skillset to the professional game.
“I just think they’re all dynamic and they’re all creators,” Hurley said. “Teams are going to love what they bring to the table and wherever they end up, they just have to keep leading their teams to victory like they did for us last year.”