From the moment he first took the court at Auburn’s open practice back in October, Aden Holloway made it abundantly clear he was going to shoot, and shoot a lot. And he was going to make those shots with one of the smoothest jump shots surely indicative of the five-star recruit status and McDonald’s All American accolades he arrived on campus with.

The talent was and is obvious. He began the regular season without film to scout him on, and he shot 43% on 3-pointers over Auburn’s first five games. His shooting showed up in the biggest games, going 5-8 on 3s against Indiana and 4-7 against USC.

Holloway’s shooting vaulted him into the conversation for among the best freshmen in the SEC, let alone the nation.

Head coach Bruce Pearl has said frequently that every time he sees Holloway release the ball, he thinks the ball is going in.

“I could probably on one hand count the number of bad shots Aden has taken all season,” Pearl said Friday. “Now, he’s probably taken more shots that others would think more than that, but I think it’s going in every time he shoots it. Even if they’re bad shots. That’s how great of a shooter he is, and that’s how hard he works at his shooting.”

But in SEC play, the film has seemed to catch up to Holloway. He’s struggled, mightily.

In 10 SEC games, Holloway is shooting 27% from the first and 23% on 3s. He’s averaging 6.5 points per game. He averages shooting roughly 2-7 from the field each night, and just under six of those attempts are 3-pointers.

Over the last three games, Holloway has only attempted two 2-point shots and is 2-14 on 3-pointers. It’s been struggles that have caused Pearl to flip Holloway out of the starting lineup in favor of Tre Donaldson.

Whether Holloway has been on at home or on the road hasn’t much mattered. He’s a freshman. The learning curve is difficult, and he’s starting to feel it.

Auburn’s 99-81 win over Alabama was maybe the clearest iteration of how defenses have adapted to the freshman.

Holloway is listed at 6-1 and 178 pounds. He may not have the size just yet to be effective at driving to the basket. And it shows in his shooting splits. According to CBB Analytics, Holloway is in the 37th percentile nationally in 2-point field goals attempted per game with 2.6, and in the 92nd percentile attempting six 3-pointers per game. Holloway’s 32.2% 2-point field goal rate is in the 7th percentile nationally.

So Alabama guarded him as tightly as possible around the perimeter, essentially daring him to drive to the basket. Holloway attempted one 2-point field goal against Alabama.

Pearl has seen Holloway work on this aspect of his game among several facets where Holloway has stepped up from elite high school programs to the SEC.

“He’s worked so hard at the other aspects of the game where he was behind coming in as a freshman,” Pearl said. “He’s worked so hard to become better defensively and to check out his position and to get our guys into their offense. He’s taken on that responsibility; look at his assist-to-turnover ratio.”

Yet as Holloway has struggled with his 3-point shot, he’s been attempting fewer 2-pointers. Pearl and Holloway’s teammates are confident in him to keep shooting, so they tell him to do just that.

At some point, they believe, a player with that type of talent will get his shot to fall.

“You’re gonna miss, everybody misses, he‘s just in a drought right now,” Donaldson said. “He’ll definitely get it going because he stays in the gym, we’re always in the gym together. Just him working through it right now, that’s going to be his biggest thing is staying right and ready.”

Pearl has had guards high-volume shooter guards like Holloway before with a Wendell Green, a Sharife Cooper or a Jared Harper. Green made only eight of 27 3-pointers over the final nine games of last season.

Slumps like these happen, for all of them. Pearl has been in similar positions before.

Auburn’s offense has been successful running through center Johni Broome — the team’s best player — and getting the ball to the interior, atypical from previous Pearl teams.

But getting Holloway going again? That’s a dynamic that expands Auburn’s offense to a different level. So Auburn expects Holloway to keep shooting. The best way to solve a slump is to just keep pushing through it.

“One of these games coming up he’s going to make a big impact and help us win the game,” Broome said.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]