Photo by: Benko Photographics
More Than The Life Of The Party, Hollingshed Emerging As Top Scoring Threat
February 28, 2018 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER – Anyone who has spent more than a few minutes around Colorado's women's basketball team knows who Mya Hollingshed is. The freshman from Houston is always the center of attention, always the center of the energy.
She can often be found dancing, singing or cracking jokes—even during practice. During the team's trip to Los Angeles last week, the Buffs went to watch Black Panther on their day between games. It took just minutes after the conclusion of the movie for her to become a spot-on impersonation of the lead character T'Challa.
"The other day we went and saw Black Panther and after the movie, she was using the accent they used in Wakanda," junior Kennedy Leonard said. "Then she gave us all a pregame speech before USC in that voice. She's like our hypeman, always has the music going on the bus. She also brings kind of a lightness to the team. When things are kind of going rough in practice, Mya will be in the corner dancing."
"If anyone's been at a practice or on a bus with us or anywhere with our team, they would know that Mya is the life of the party," head coach JR Payne said. "Even when we were recruiting her, we knew that Mya would bring a light-heartedness that our team very much needed and would bring that fun spirit. She brings her spirit into the weight room, into the offices and into the locker room and to games, and has really learned throughout the season that you can't be silly all the time. There's a time and place to be silly and there's a time and place to get serious and play hard and do that. So she's really evolved as a player in trying to maintain that light-heartedness as well as a toughness on the court."
Her toughness on the court has shown and that evolution in containing her outgoing personality has been obvious. When most players tend to regress when they face tougher competition, Hollingshed has seen her best production in games as CU got into Pac-12 play, the meat of the team's schedule.
After averaging a modest 5.6 points in non-conference play, including an 18-point effort vs. NCAA Division III Westminster (Mo.), she has stepped up and is the team's third-leading scorer in Pac-12 games at just under seven points per game. Her field goal percentage was just over 40 percent entering conference play and is nearly 50 percent in Pac-12 games. Over the past nine games, she's averaging 9.2 points and shooting 19-for-40 (.475) from 3-point range, including a season-best 22-point performance against No. 17 Oregon State on Jan. 28.
Hollingshed mentions that Oregon State game as the turning point in her season, the moment she realized that she belongs in the Pac-12. It was also the game fans who don't know her personality got to know who she is for her basketball abilities as she buried 6-of-10 from 3-point range and had five rebounds.
"That definitely helped my confidence," Hollingshed said of the Oregon State game. "The coaches told me to shoot the ball without hesitating. That definitely boosted my confidence. Every time I get it and I'm open, I'm shooting it."
She excels in an up-tempo offense, something the Buffs try to execute. The pace of play has also increased on the defensive side of the ball as most Pac-12 teams play fast and in transition.
"Since the Oregon State game, I really picked it up, just knowing how to play and just playing at a high level," Hollingshed said. "I bring it back to AAU. That's where I learned to play at a high pace, scrappy pace. It comes more second-nature when I play that fast. I've just got to play under control because the Pac-12 players are stronger, they're faster, they're tougher and more physical. You just have to be in control of everything."
CU has Hollingshed playing on the wing a lot, though in high school she played primarily in the post because of her size at 6-4. And even playing in the post is relatively new to her as she didn't start playing organized basketball until eighth grade. She grew up playing tennis and volleyball and running track. Those skills have translated well to basketball as she possesses excellent quickness and footwork for someone her height.
She also seems to be a natural at basketball as it runs in her family; Hollingshed's father played Division I basketball and her grandfather Terry Sykes was a second-round pick in the 1978 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets.
While she is naturally gifted at basketball, her youth in the sport gives her a high ceiling as far as her potential goes. Payne is looking forward to the offseason to continue to build her game.
"We will work on her having a continued urgency, the way she's playing defensively," Payne said. "Most freshmen can always get better and she's no different. And then we will work on ballhandling, to take people off the bounce, because she's actually pretty quick and pretty athletic. Most of her success is coming from 3-point range right now, which is great because she's shooting such a high percentage. But she's got to be able to become more multi-dimensional."
Hollingshed figures to be a big factor if CU is to make a run in the Pac-12 Tournament, which starts Thursday at 12:30 p.m. MT vs. Utah in Seattle.
She can often be found dancing, singing or cracking jokes—even during practice. During the team's trip to Los Angeles last week, the Buffs went to watch Black Panther on their day between games. It took just minutes after the conclusion of the movie for her to become a spot-on impersonation of the lead character T'Challa.
"The other day we went and saw Black Panther and after the movie, she was using the accent they used in Wakanda," junior Kennedy Leonard said. "Then she gave us all a pregame speech before USC in that voice. She's like our hypeman, always has the music going on the bus. She also brings kind of a lightness to the team. When things are kind of going rough in practice, Mya will be in the corner dancing."
"If anyone's been at a practice or on a bus with us or anywhere with our team, they would know that Mya is the life of the party," head coach JR Payne said. "Even when we were recruiting her, we knew that Mya would bring a light-heartedness that our team very much needed and would bring that fun spirit. She brings her spirit into the weight room, into the offices and into the locker room and to games, and has really learned throughout the season that you can't be silly all the time. There's a time and place to be silly and there's a time and place to get serious and play hard and do that. So she's really evolved as a player in trying to maintain that light-heartedness as well as a toughness on the court."
Her toughness on the court has shown and that evolution in containing her outgoing personality has been obvious. When most players tend to regress when they face tougher competition, Hollingshed has seen her best production in games as CU got into Pac-12 play, the meat of the team's schedule.
After averaging a modest 5.6 points in non-conference play, including an 18-point effort vs. NCAA Division III Westminster (Mo.), she has stepped up and is the team's third-leading scorer in Pac-12 games at just under seven points per game. Her field goal percentage was just over 40 percent entering conference play and is nearly 50 percent in Pac-12 games. Over the past nine games, she's averaging 9.2 points and shooting 19-for-40 (.475) from 3-point range, including a season-best 22-point performance against No. 17 Oregon State on Jan. 28.
Hollingshed mentions that Oregon State game as the turning point in her season, the moment she realized that she belongs in the Pac-12. It was also the game fans who don't know her personality got to know who she is for her basketball abilities as she buried 6-of-10 from 3-point range and had five rebounds.
"That definitely helped my confidence," Hollingshed said of the Oregon State game. "The coaches told me to shoot the ball without hesitating. That definitely boosted my confidence. Every time I get it and I'm open, I'm shooting it."
She excels in an up-tempo offense, something the Buffs try to execute. The pace of play has also increased on the defensive side of the ball as most Pac-12 teams play fast and in transition.
"Since the Oregon State game, I really picked it up, just knowing how to play and just playing at a high level," Hollingshed said. "I bring it back to AAU. That's where I learned to play at a high pace, scrappy pace. It comes more second-nature when I play that fast. I've just got to play under control because the Pac-12 players are stronger, they're faster, they're tougher and more physical. You just have to be in control of everything."
CU has Hollingshed playing on the wing a lot, though in high school she played primarily in the post because of her size at 6-4. And even playing in the post is relatively new to her as she didn't start playing organized basketball until eighth grade. She grew up playing tennis and volleyball and running track. Those skills have translated well to basketball as she possesses excellent quickness and footwork for someone her height.
She also seems to be a natural at basketball as it runs in her family; Hollingshed's father played Division I basketball and her grandfather Terry Sykes was a second-round pick in the 1978 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets.
While she is naturally gifted at basketball, her youth in the sport gives her a high ceiling as far as her potential goes. Payne is looking forward to the offseason to continue to build her game.
"We will work on her having a continued urgency, the way she's playing defensively," Payne said. "Most freshmen can always get better and she's no different. And then we will work on ballhandling, to take people off the bounce, because she's actually pretty quick and pretty athletic. Most of her success is coming from 3-point range right now, which is great because she's shooting such a high percentage. But she's got to be able to become more multi-dimensional."
Hollingshed figures to be a big factor if CU is to make a run in the Pac-12 Tournament, which starts Thursday at 12:30 p.m. MT vs. Utah in Seattle.
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