Andre Hollins says best year to come would have been after soph, but has no regrets

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BleedGopher

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per the STrib Q&A:

Do you look back at that? Do you wonder what would have happened if you had left after sophomore year? Yeah, looking back at all my years, that would been my best year to come out. Draft Express had me going lottery. I had a breakout year. Everything was on the rise, I had all these invites to camps in the summer time and everything was going good. But I wouldn’t take it back. That was an opportunity. I ended up getting my degree, meeting my girlfriend – me and Rachel got together after that. And just prolonging friendships I’ve made in college, networking and connecting. And I’ll never forget those things, those four years. I think when I look back on it, it will be the best four years of my life.

Was declaring for the draft something you thought a lot about after your sophomore year? You had your best statistical year that year – 14.6 points, 3.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds a game. Yeah it was. I think when [former Minnesota] coach [Tubby] Smith got fired, it kind of distracted me from that. Then I started thinking about what was happening next with the team, I wasn’t thinking about myself. But that’s how it goes.

You graduated a semester early, in Dec. 2014 with your degree in the prestigious Carlson School of Management. How proud are you of that achievement? One of my goals coming into college was to get a degree. So now I’ve got that, I’ve made my family proud. Almost all of my family came up to Minneapolis to see me graduate, so that was awesome. It was great to just get it done early so I could focus on the season, focus on ball.

http://www.startribune.com/andre-ho...ously-to-whatever-his-future-holds/309854251/

Go Gophers!!
 



I just wish he would have smiled more. Always seemed grouchy.
 



Way to represent, Andre!
 

cncmin said:
Way to represent, Andre!
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Favorite moment of him I never saw. Diehards remember Thanksgiving weekend his sophomore year. I was sitting in a hunting shack outside Willmar Mn listening by radio to the 41 he put up on Memphis. Very efficient 12-16 and 5-5 3s. All I could do between when he scored is wonder why he didn't take more shots that game. He had that unselfish nature.
 

I
macgopher said:
Favorite moment of him I never saw. Diehards remember Thanksgiving weekend his sophomore year. I was sitting in a hunting shack outside Willmar Mn listening by radio to the 41 he put up on Memphis. Very efficient 12-16 and 5-5 3s. All I could do between when he scored is wonder why he didn't take more shots that game. He had that unselfish nature.
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Yes that was an amazing day for andre
 

macgopher said:
Favorite moment of him I never saw. Diehards remember Thanksgiving weekend his sophomore year. I was sitting in a hunting shack outside Willmar Mn listening by radio to the 41 he put up on Memphis. Very efficient 12-16 and 5-5 3s. All I could do between when he scored is wonder why he didn't take more shots that game. He had that unselfish nature.
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That's my favorite memory too! It was in a tourney in Maui, the Bahamas, or somewhere like that. Memphis was ranked and it didn't look good. That game was also on a weird channel I think, so I had to go to BWW. I remember him just nailing every shot he took and smiling the whole time. Honestly, one of the best Gopher memories I have.
 



JMWZ said:
That's my favorite memory too! It was in a tourney in Maui, the Bahamas, or somewhere like that. Memphis was ranked and it didn't look good. That game was also on a weird channel I think, so I had to go to BWW. I remember him just nailing every shot he took and smiling the whole time. Honestly, one of the best Gopher memories I have.
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That was the Atlantis tournament
 

The Atlantis tournament was fun, he was also outstanding in the NCAA tourney that year against UCLA and Florida. One of my favorite Gophers.
 

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/196411?referrer_id=388419-gopherhole-com-news-archive

Andre Hollins had a lot to deal with as he and his Minnesota teammates prepared to face Memphis in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

His grandmother died last weekend. And across the court from him Friday were a lot people he knows well - he was one of the Memphis high school players who got away.

When the Gophers' 84-75 victory over the 19th-ranked Tigers in the consolation semifinals was over, Hollins had scored a career-high 41 points - a figure no Minnesota player had reached in 41 years - and received hugs from his mother and others who made the trip to the Bahamas. Best of all, he got handshakes and praise from those players he knows so well.

''This is definitely a great feeling,'' Hollins said with a wide smile. ''It is my hometown team. I won two state championships with a couple of the other guys on Memphis. It was a great feeling to win against guys I used to play with.''

And it was a pretty good feeling for the Gophers (5-1), who lost 89-71 to No. 5 Duke in the first round, and will meet Stanford for fifth place on Saturday.

The sophomore guard scored 24 points in the first half - one off his career high entering the game - and he closed strong, making 7 of 8 free throws and throwing in a monster dunk during the final 1:15 to account for all the Golden Gophers' points in a 9-0 run to end the game.

Hollins finished 12 of 16 from the field - making all five of his 3-point attempts - and was 12 of 13 from the free throw line.

''We know he can shoot the ball. We know he can score the ball,'' Minnesota coach Tubby Smith said. ''I think understanding the flow of the game and the tempo of the game, all of those things you have to do. His defense has gotten a lot better. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact he's healthy.

''He really rose to the occasion especially in the second half. Dre put on a great display. I don't think I've ever seen a young man I've coached do that. I'm very impressed.''

The last Minnesota player to break the 40-point mark was Oliver Shannon, who had 42 against Wisconsin on March 6, 1971. Only two others have reached the mark in school history.

Hollins said he didn't do anything special before Friday's game.

''I had some cereal. That's it. Just some Frosted Flakes,'' he said. Once the game started he did do something besides scoring.

''We tried to do what the coach was preaching, taking care of the ball,'' Hollins said.

D.J. Stephens had 15 points to the Tigers (2-2), who lost 78-65 to Virginia Commonwealth in the opening round and now face the possibility of being one of four ranked teams in the field that could go home without a win.

''All the criticism and blame always fall on me as it should,'' Memphis coach Josh Pastner said. ''But there is no need to push the panic button. This is just part of the journey. We still have a chance to be scary good with all the talent we have.''

Hollins had a quiet 24 points in the first half, which ended with Minnesota leading 47-42. He had one stretch where he hit two straight after Memphis had taken a 38-37 lead but otherwise he was taking shots within the offense.

Memphis held its last lead at 68-67 on a 3 by Stephens with 6:10 to play. Rodney Williams, who had 13 points, scored on a drive with 5:58 left to give the Gophers the lead for good.

The Tigers managed to get within three points twice but they hurt themselves at the line, missing five straight, including two front ends of 1-and-1s over the final 10 minutes. During that stretch Minnesota made 13 of 14 at the line.

''We had chances down the stretch but we turned the ball over and missed a load of free throws,'' Pastner said. ''Boy, did that bite us in the butt.''

Tarik Black added 13 points for Memphis while Shaq Goodwin and Adonis Thomas had 12 each. Starting point guard Joe Jackson, who Pastner said had to improve his play, logged just seven minutes - all in the first half - and had two points without an assist.

''Joe's going to be better than that. We know he will be better,'' Pastner said. ''I believe in Joe and he will snap out of it.'
 

HOOP DREAMS said:
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/196411?referrer_id=388419-gopherhole-com-news-archive

Andre Hollins had a lot to deal with as he and his Minnesota teammates prepared to face Memphis in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

His grandmother died last weekend. And across the court from him Friday were a lot people he knows well - he was one of the Memphis high school players who got away.

When the Gophers' 84-75 victory over the 19th-ranked Tigers in the consolation semifinals was over, Hollins had scored a career-high 41 points - a figure no Minnesota player had reached in 41 years - and received hugs from his mother and others who made the trip to the Bahamas. Best of all, he got handshakes and praise from those players he knows so well.

''This is definitely a great feeling,'' Hollins said with a wide smile. ''It is my hometown team. I won two state championships with a couple of the other guys on Memphis. It was a great feeling to win against guys I used to play with.''

And it was a pretty good feeling for the Gophers (5-1), who lost 89-71 to No. 5 Duke in the first round, and will meet Stanford for fifth place on Saturday.

The sophomore guard scored 24 points in the first half - one off his career high entering the game - and he closed strong, making 7 of 8 free throws and throwing in a monster dunk during the final 1:15 to account for all the Golden Gophers' points in a 9-0 run to end the game.

Hollins finished 12 of 16 from the field - making all five of his 3-point attempts - and was 12 of 13 from the free throw line.

''We know he can shoot the ball. We know he can score the ball,'' Minnesota coach Tubby Smith said. ''I think understanding the flow of the game and the tempo of the game, all of those things you have to do. His defense has gotten a lot better. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact he's healthy.

''He really rose to the occasion especially in the second half. Dre put on a great display. I don't think I've ever seen a young man I've coached do that. I'm very impressed.''

The last Minnesota player to break the 40-point mark was Oliver Shannon, who had 42 against Wisconsin on March 6, 1971. Only two others have reached the mark in school history.

Hollins said he didn't do anything special before Friday's game.

''I had some cereal. That's it. Just some Frosted Flakes,'' he said. Once the game started he did do something besides scoring.

''We tried to do what the coach was preaching, taking care of the ball,'' Hollins said.

D.J. Stephens had 15 points to the Tigers (2-2), who lost 78-65 to Virginia Commonwealth in the opening round and now face the possibility of being one of four ranked teams in the field that could go home without a win.

''All the criticism and blame always fall on me as it should,'' Memphis coach Josh Pastner said. ''But there is no need to push the panic button. This is just part of the journey. We still have a chance to be scary good with all the talent we have.''

Hollins had a quiet 24 points in the first half, which ended with Minnesota leading 47-42. He had one stretch where he hit two straight after Memphis had taken a 38-37 lead but otherwise he was taking shots within the offense.

Memphis held its last lead at 68-67 on a 3 by Stephens with 6:10 to play. Rodney Williams, who had 13 points, scored on a drive with 5:58 left to give the Gophers the lead for good.

The Tigers managed to get within three points twice but they hurt themselves at the line, missing five straight, including two front ends of 1-and-1s over the final 10 minutes. During that stretch Minnesota made 13 of 14 at the line.

''We had chances down the stretch but we turned the ball over and missed a load of free throws,'' Pastner said. ''Boy, did that bite us in the butt.''

Tarik Black added 13 points for Memphis while Shaq Goodwin and Adonis Thomas had 12 each. Starting point guard Joe Jackson, who Pastner said had to improve his play, logged just seven minutes - all in the first half - and had two points without an assist.

''Joe's going to be better than that. We know he will be better,'' Pastner said. ''I believe in Joe and he will snap out of it.'
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Still think that he should have had 50+ but for his unselfishness. In the first half besides 24 points, 9-10 FG/attempts including 4-4 from three. I would imagine he had a little more trouble getting open in the second half.
 



I don't know if anyone saw this yesterday, but Andre signed with the Leuven Bears in the Belgium league. I'm glad to see that his career is continuing.
 

JMWZ said:
I don't know if anyone saw this yesterday, but Andre signed with the Leuven Bears in the Belgium league. I'm glad to see that his career is continuing.
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Great news for Andre. There are worse places to live than Belgium. :drink::drink::drink:
 




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