The legendary Bob Knight once said, “People change over the years, and that changes situations for good and for bad.” In an ever-changing college basketball landscape, this idea has been instilled among an array of seniors throughout the country.

While freshman earn most of the draft buzz, Jonathan Holmes, Bryce Dejean-Jones, and Jerian Grant have shown that seniors can also use their experience to transform into NBA prospects. They aren’t just making the most of their respective situations, but thriving.
 
Holmes was recruited to Texas in a six-man recruiting class that featured four ESPN 100 prospects back in 2011. The class ranked fourth in the country and – with an infusion of young talent – signs pointed up for head coach Rick Barnes and the Longhorns. Texas made the NCAA Tournament in Holmes’ freshman year, but the Longhorns failed to go dancing the following season for the first time in Barnes’ career. The five other recruits left, either for the draft or another school, and Holmes was the final piece of the 2011 recruiting class by his junior year.
 
With the program now in question and Barnes on the hot seat, Texas looked for Holmes to lead the way as the only upperclassman on scholarship. He was just the sixth highest scorer on his team as a sophomore, but was the top returner in the scoring department. There were certainly some questions going into his junior year.
 
Holmes, however, stuck with the process and averaged a team-high 12.8 points per game while shooting 50.5% from the field. He added another 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game at the power forward position. Texas made the tournament, won a game, and surpassed expectations as a young squad. He was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player and he seemed to cement his spot as a dominant power forward in the Big 12.
 
Over the offseason, Texas landed ESPN’s No. 2 prospect in the 2014 class in Myles Turner. The 6-foot-11 center added even more size up front to a loaded frontcourt, but the Longhorns already had plenty of talented big men with Cameron Ridley, Prince Ibeh, Connor Lammert, and Holmes returning. After thriving as a junior, Holmes was asked to assume a different role on the wing.
 
As his role changed, Holmes reportedly lost 20 pounds over the offseason to help his quickness and athleticism on the wing. It’s also obvious that he worked on his jumper, as he’s seen a spike in production as a senior. The payoff came in a win over Connecticut.
 
With starting point guard Isaiah Taylor out with an injured wrist, Holmes led the Longhorns with a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds in a 55-54 victory. The game-winner? A corner three from Holmes with just three seconds remaining.
 
“It was a really good look, as good of a look you’ll get with four seconds left,” Holmes said after the game. “All the credit to my teammates, they screened me and gave me the ball in the spot where I can score it.”
 
Holmes has emerged from the fourth-best prospect in his team’s recruiting class to Texas’ most valuable player. He’s averaging 12.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season while shooting 44.6% from the field and 44.1% from behind the arc. At 6-foot-8, his transition to the wing has taken his stock from an undersized power forward to a potential second round pick. Texas is off to a 7-1 start with its lone loss to Kentucky, and Holmes has the Longhorns looking like a Final Four darkhorse. In the process, Holmes is also gaining NBA intrigue.
 
Elsewhere in the Big 12, Iowa State shooting guard Bryce Dejean-Jones has emerged as a possible NBA candidate. His Twitter bio explains his outlook on the season, as the first three words read, “Getting NBA ready!!!!”
 
Unlike Holmes, Dejean-Jones has bounced around. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard was considered a four-star prospect by ESPN, but the Southern California native turned down bigger offers to play for his hometown USC Trojans. He started in the first 10 games of his career, averaging 11.2 points per game, but saw a bench role after a transfer gained eligibility. Dejean-Jones had reported trouble with head coach Kevin O’Neill along with off the court issues as a freshman and ultimately decided to transfer.
 
Dejean-Jones ended up at UNLV and made an instant impact after sitting out due to transfer rules. In his redshirt sophomore year, he averaged 10.3 points per game and boosted that number to 13.6 points as a junior. While he led the team in scoring as a junior, he decided to hit the transfer market once again. He became immediately eligible to play due to the graduate transfer rule and eventually settled on Iowa State.
 
While Dejean-Jones was regarded for his scoring ability, he faced questions in his shot selection. He shot just 41.3% from the field as a sophomore and 34.7% from three-point range. He made some improvements from the field as a junior, shooting 42.7%, but dropped to 32.3% shooting from deep.
 
With the success Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg has had with recent transfers, it’s no surprise that Dejean-Jones has emerged as an NBA prospect. No longer is he regarded as a “chucker” but instead a productive player on both ends of the floor.
 
There’s no better example than what Dejean-Jones did in his last game against a nationally ranked Arkansas squad. In 37 minutes, Dejean-Jones scored 27 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting that included four three-pointers in a 95-77 win. He’s having his most efficient season of his career, averaging 16.3 points per game on 53.2% shooting.
 
“That’s a pretty good line, I can’t believe he missed a free throw,” Hoiberg said jokingly of Dejean-Jones after the Arkansas game. “He had a heck of a matchup with [Michael] Qualls, he had to play good defense. He was out there that whole second half without rest. He took a couple heat check shots, but when you haven’t missed you can take a few of those. It was great to see him get it going from the three-point line. He had been struggling a little bit with his shot – been working on a few things to get his rhythm a little bit better – and tonight it paid off.”
 
But it isn’t just his offensive ability that’s drawing attention – it’s also what he’s done on the defensive end. Early in the season against Georgia State, Dejean-Jones did a good job stopping perhaps the top shooting guard in the country in R.J. Hunter. He didn’t see major minutes on Hunter, but did block two of his shots and made it tough for him to find space throughout the night.
 
As a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, Dejean-Jones has the size and athleticism to play at the next level. He’s older than most of his peers due to a redshirt season, but he’s shown maturity and growth during the process. Dejean-Jones has helped Iowa State jump out to a 5-1 start as the Cyclones will be another top team in the Big 12.
 
While Holmes and Dejean-Jones showed improvements on the court, the key for Grant was getting back on it. He was suspended midway through last season due to academic issues and questions loomed whether he’d pursue a career in the D-League or overseas.
 
After averaging 19 points on 51.8 percent shooting to go with 6.2 assists per game, Grant had emerged as an NBA candidate, but now the future was uncertain. Instead of pursuing a professional career, Grant made a point to return to Notre Dame and complete his unfinished business.
 
Grant saw his younger brother, Jerami, get drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers over the summer and returned for his senior year in South Bend. Instead of spending his off time as a partial vacation, Grant put in the work in hopes of hearing his name called in the NBA Draft as well.
 
The 6-foot-5 guard was off to a stellar senior year, but had his breakout performance against nationally ranked Michigan State. He scored a career-high 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting that included an array of impressive scoring moves to create separation. He also added six assists, four rebounds, and three steals in the win and impressed opposing head coach Tom Izzo.
 
"I think he's a pro player,” Izzo said of Grant after the game. “I think he's a guy who's so unselfish. He doesn't force shots. He took seventeen shots, but to me you wouldn't even have known it. He gets fouled, he can make passes and he defends pretty well. I think he's as complete a guard as we've played against so far. I told him after the game I was very, very impressed by him. I thought he was a very good player in a lot of different areas."

Now off to a successful senior year, Grant is actually averaging similar numbers to last season. He’s contributing 19.0 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 57.7% from the field and 36.2% from three-point range. The 6-foot-5 guard has played both spots in the backcourt this season, but has certainly been the engine for the Irish offense this season. As a result, Grant has returned to the NBA Draft discussion as a likely second round pick.
 
While we are certainly living in the one-and-done era of college hoops, there are plenty of success stories among seniors throughout the country. Stars can’t shine without a bit of darkness, and these three have made the most out of their respective situations. With continued success, an NBA opportunity may be on the horizon for these seniors.