Ryan Hollins takes his chance with the Bruins

  ANGIE LEVINE/Daily Bruin

Ryan Hollins scored 11 points in 18 minutes in
the Nike Say No Classic.

By Jeff Agase
DAILY BRUIN STAFF
[email protected]

Some paths to Westwood take no longer than 30 minutes to
traverse ““ a simple jaunt down the 405 freeway or across the
10 freeway is all it can take to land at UCLA.

For incoming freshman Ryan Hollins, the path has already taken
him through St. Louis and Seattle. After minimal recruiting from
UCLA, Hollins signed a letter of intent to attend St. Louis and
play for former UCLA assistant coach Lorenzo Romar.

But when Romar left to fill the vacant head coaching job at
Washington, Hollins had a decision to make.

“Everyone figured I’d just go to Washington,”
said Hollins, who averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds per game at
Pasadena’s John Muir High last year. “A lot of people
gave up on me.”

UCLA didn’t. Two weeks after Romar went to Washington, a
recruit the Bruin coaching staff had been eyeing decided on
Oklahoma State. With a spot open, UCLA’s and Hollins’
paths crossed.

“UCLA had never recruited him,” Hollins’
father Denier said. “It was almost like an act of God that
they wanted him.”

Hollins took an official visit to Washington and an unofficial
visit to UCLA. Though he was promised heavy personal attention from
Romar at Washington, he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to
don a Bruin jersey.

Whether Hollins will be wearing the jersey during games is left
to the decision of the UCLA coaching staff. He has been given an
unconditional release from his letter at St. Louis and is eligible
this season.

However, a report in the Los Angeles Times last week said
Hollins may be asked to take a redshirt year.

“They haven’t said anything to me about a
redshirt,” Hollins said. “I’m ready to play.
I’m also definitely open to taking a redshirt, but they
haven’t asked me yet.”

The UCLA coaching staff was out of town last week and could not
be reached for comment. The Times story also said Hollins will
likely not redshirt and instead be asked to play if sophomore Andre
Patterson is not academically eligible for the 2002-2003 season.
Patterson has been taking classes this summer to raise his GPA.

Hollins is not yet as far along as fellow incoming freshman Evan
Burns, who may compete for a starting job. Hollins is 6-foot-11 but
only 210 pounds and is still a bit timid on the court.

Playing for Hanks Little Hoopers in the playoffs of the Nike Say
No Classic last weekend, Hollins scored 11 points in 18 minutes. He
showed impressive open-court transition speed and soft hands around
the rim.

Conversely, Hollins also airballed a free throw and appeared
hesitant on defense. Nothing but air from the charity stripe by no
means prevents a Bruin from getting playing time (see Dan
Gadzuric), but Hollins realizes he has a way to go before he can
put in strong minutes backing up the starting center.

“I feel like I was holding back a little bit this
summer,” Hollins said. “I know what I can do. Once I
get a lot stronger, I can probably play a little center, but for
right now, I’ll play the four.”

RYAN HOLLINS PROFILE

Height: 6’11"

Position: Center/power forward

Hometown: Pasadena

Prep Highlights: Rated the No. 3 center on the West Coast by
PrepWestHoops.com . . . Named first-team Div. III All-CIF and
All-Pacific League after averaging 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and
2.0 blocked shots his senior year . . . Placed third in the triple
jump (48 feet, 2 3/4 inches) at the state track and field meet in
Cerritos June 9 . . . Other personal bests in the field include
21-2 in the long jump and 6-6 in the high jump.

SOURCE: www.uclabruins.com