Ryan Hollins: Jumping Into The NBA
July 5, 2006

As he was preparing for the NBA Draft last week, Ryan Hollins wasn’t sure that he would hear his name called. He had played for four years at UCLA, but it was only in his senior season that he blossomed and showed his basketball potential. He averaged 7.0 points and 4.8 rebounds his senior year, an improvement over his first three years with the Bruins when he averaged 5.1 points and 3.7 rebounds.

But Hollins refused to quit or give in to the doubters. He always defended himself and always told himself that he would make an NBA roster. And now he has the opportunity to achieve his goals.

When the Bobcats selected him with the 50th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, there was no guaranteed contracts or press conference fanfares that accompany the first round selections. But the Bobcats gave him all he ever asked for, a chance.

He knows that the Bobcats may be interested in sending him to the National Basketball Association Development League instead of immediately playing in the NBA. But he isn’t complaining; he’s simply trying to do whatever he can to help the team.

“My goals for the summer league are just to get better, to soak up the experience and to learn,” Hollins said. “If the coaches want me to go to the D-League, I’ll do whatever they ask.”

Hollins finished his career at UCLA as the fourth all-time leading shot-blocker with 101 blocks in his four-year career. In addition to basketball, he also competed for the UCLA track and field team in the high jump, long jump and triple jump.

He experienced success as a track athlete, placing third in the triple jump in the state of California during his senior year in high school, even though he had never previously participated in the event. Before that, Hollins had never thought about competing for a college track team, but ended up being the best high jumper on the UCLA squad, posting seven feet and 1/4 inches. Even with his track success, there has never been any question in his mind as to which sport takes priority.

“I’ve always been a basketball player. I was a basketball player doing track; I was never a track athlete playing basketball,” he said.

While his track achievements obviously added more time commitments to his already busy schedule, it also helped him improve his basketball skills and technique.

“I feel I am a lot more sculpted, and I can jump better [because of track],” Hollins said. “I learned a lot more technique and paid more attention to detail which helped me with basketball. Right after track season, I was always jumping so much higher on the basketball court.”

Summer League Head Coach John-Blair Bickerstaff agrees that Hollins’ track experience has helped him become a more complete basketball player.

“He’s quite a bit better than what he would be if he just played basketball,” Bickerstaff said. “He runs the floor, and he rebounds not only when the ball comes to him, but when he has to go chase it down. I think [track] has helped him immensely.”

When the Bobcats coaching staff brought Hollins in for workouts, they were immediately intrigued by his graceful athleticism, especially for someone of his height. At the end of workouts, he would always “do something unbelievable, like a windmill or something behind-the-back, and this was after an hour-and-a-half workout,” Bickerstaff said. “Every movement he made was with a purpose, and it was more graceful than most seven-footers.”

The coaching staff was also interested in Hollins’ in-depth understanding of the game. When he came in for workouts, he was always asking questions and trying to get better, instead of simply doing what they asked him to do. He received high praise from UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland about his basketball intelligence, his ability to retain information and his quickness in picking up both offensive and defensive systems.

Bickerstaff and the rest of the Bobcats’ coaching staff feel lucky to have had the opportunity to draft Hollins. He was ranked as high as 30 in some of the mock drafts, and the Bobcats didn’t expect to be able to select him with the 50th pick.

“”We thought there was a chance he would go in the first round or the first few picks of the second round because how often do you get a guy that is seven feet tall with a 40-inch vertical?” Bickerstaff said. “We were happy he was there, and we believe he was a steal.”

Hollins’ athleticism isn’t going unnoticed by his summer league teammates. Emeka Okafor will not participate in the Orlando Summer League but is practicing all week with the team and has had the opportunity to witness Hollins’ jumping ability first-hand.

“He has that make-believe hop,” Okafor said. “You just don’t see that. I haven’t seen any seven-footers who can get up like that with that ease.”

Hollins is grateful for the chance to work with Okafor and Sean May, who he has been going up against in practice every day.

“To just have the chance to be on the floor and participate with those guys is great. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can about their work ethic, skills and feel for the game,” Hollins said.

On the night of the NBA Draft, Ryan Hollins wasn’t sure that he would hear his name called. But he did, and he’s seizing his opportunity to play in the NBA.