Hopkins Prep Star Does It All On The Court
HOPKINS, Minn. (WCCO) -- If you're looking at a list of the 15 best juniors in the entire country in girls basketball, she's on it. And she doesn't even lead her own team in scoring.
But when you watch Nia Hollie play for Hopkins, you see why pretty clearly. Nia Hollie isn't known for her scoring or her rebounding or her assists or steals or blocks. She's known for all of it.
"I try to do a lot of different things on the court and I try to just get my teammates the ball. I can score if I want to, but I mean, I really like passing," Hollie said.
Hollie is one of those rare all-around players, and there's no bigger indication of that than what you see on a stat sheet. Or rather, what you don't see. You won't find her among the state leaders in points, rebounds, assists, steals or blocks. In fact, she's not even the leading scorer or rebounder on her own team.
But ask basketball evaluators, and they'll tell you, she's the best player in the whole state as just a junior. Take a peek at the recruiting rankings, she's listed as the 14th-best player in the entire country in the junior class by ESPN.
That balanced all-around play is the reason why.
"It's really important to me. People try to emulate that in their game a lot, and it's kind of rare to have one of those type of players," Hollie said.
While she'll shoot, pass, rebound, steal and block, the only thing you won't see her do on the court, is smile.
"Once the buzzer starts, until it finishes, it's game time," Hollie said.
Which is kind of funny because once she's off the court, she won't stop. It's maybe the one thing she does lead the state in. After all, she's got a lot to smile about.
"It's been really crazy. I mean, I'm just kind of grateful and really blessed that I got the opportunity to be blessed with this potential," Hollie said.
Hollie told WCCO that she's already decided where she's going to college and plans to announce it soon. The Gophers are one of the teams recruiting her heavily.
