It is said of Austin Hollins that as a child he would train alone for hours on the field, until his father would stop him.
The new Maccabi Tel Aviv player grew up in a basketball family, his father - Lionel Hollins, was an NBA player and won the championship with Portland, was selected to the All - Star and the league's top five, and after retiring he coached Memphis and Brooklyn in the best league in the world.
His brother Anthony also played in colleges, and it was clear to Austin that one day he too would become an actor.
Hollins played at Minnesota College for four seasons, building a reputation as an excellent defensive player.
'I'm very proud of it, in fact it's really fun - to stop a leading player from the opposing team.
"He may not score 0 points, but you'll make life difficult for him," the guard said at the time.
Although he continued to improve as a season-high player in colleges, he was not selected in the NBA Draft in 2014 and decided to try his luck in Europe.
Austin Hollins was -WID E- open and he gets it to go! #DCAboveAll |
#NBASummer pic.twitter.com/S7D9Cu95Dl
- Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) August 12, 2021
Came from below
Unlike many other American players, Hollins, who plays in positions 2 and 3, was not immediately given a chance in one of the major leagues.
He started his professional career with the Danan-Voltaire team from the second French league, and after two years moved to play in the Finnish league with Carhu.
In the 2017/18 season he finally got a chance in a relatively senior league and signed with Gissen 46 from the Bundesliga in Germany.
A season later he moved to Resta Pachta, the newcomer to the German league, and reached the semi-finals of the playoffs in Germany with the team, becoming one of the leading players on the team - and entering the scouts' notebooks on the continent.
At the age of 27, Hollins got a chance in a senior team, joining Zenit St Petersburg, under Spanish coach Xavi Pasqual.
In his first season he became a rotation player in the Russian team, providing some tremendous games in the Euroleague with 28 points against CSKA, and 26 against Andulo Zero, but also ten games in which he scored no more than 6 points. He finished the first season in Russia with Averages 10.4 points in the Euroleague and 34.7% for three.
Hollins.
Maccabi Tel Aviv made a good deal ?, Photo: From Twitter
In his second season under Pascual his position on the team strengthened, mainly due to the defensive ability he displayed, and he became a five-man player.
Zenit's excellent season, which reached the playoffs, was stopped only against Barcelona, in the best of five games in the quarter-finals.
But even this season, stability did not characterize the player - in four games in the Euroleague he did not score a single point, finishing the season with an average of 8.2 points and 36.9% for three.
Last season at Red Star, to some extent was his worst season at the senior factory.
He played only 28 games, because he was injured here in Tel Aviv against Maccabi, and missed the last straight of the season - the guard started in the top five in only 17 games out of 28, and scored 31.2% for three.
"One of the best guards in Europe"
Sources at Maccabi tell "Israel Today" that one of the reasons for the player's signing is his defensive ability.
Maccabi believes that he is one of the best defensive players in the league.
Hollins has very long arms and is considered an excellent one-on-one defender, he is very athletic, and grabs quite a few balls.
This season the American managed to stop the players he kept at 1 on 1 on only 31% from the field.
Also on the offensive side Hollins is not a bad player, but there are also some not particularly encouraging figures.
First of all of course his percentage off the arc last season in Belgrade, although he has previously scored better from that range, is unstable.
You will not see the guard / forward create throwing situations for himself or his teammates, and he is a player who lives on offense from what the team will arrange for him, or from passing attacks.
This is an amazing athlete, who is undoubtedly going to lift the crowd in the hall more than once this season, but despite his ability to jump high he contributes almost no rebound at all - 1.9 per game in three seasons in the Euroleague.
Hollins.
Will have to rise above rebounds, Photo: From Twitter
In the summer of Maccabi Tel Aviv so far, you can identify a trend - do not bet on players.
From Alex Poiters through Darron Hilliard, and even Bonzi Coulson - who although he has never played in the Euroleague, is a player with relatively large European experience.
Apparently the failures in recent seasons with players at Maccabi believed that could turn into thefts: such as Cameron Taylor, and Kyrie Thomas, were enough for the Yellows.
This season, Yad Eliyahu decided to go for players who have already played at the high level.
Austin Hollins is quite an actor in the arena who knows what they will get from him.
For the past three seasons, the 30-year-old American has played in the Euroleague, and the level is no stranger to him.
The American is not going to be one of the stars of Maccabi Tel Aviv next season, and he may not even dress often in the league, but it is entirely a player who can give a good 20 minutes in the Euroleague, also on offense, and especially on important defensive tasks.
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