CORVALLIS, Ore. “”mdash; At one point in the season, center Ryan
Hollins was lost in UCLA’s lineup. Injuries plagued the
senior at the start of the season. His much maligned wiry frame and
lack of aggression landed the 7-foot, 225-pound Hollins on the
bench. Call it a second chance, and Hollins is grabbing the
opportunity. In his second consecutive start, Hollins scored 11
points and pulled down seven rebounds against Oregon State.
“I couldn’t have predicted that things would go this
well,” said Hollins who played 35 minutes, which included all
of the second half. “You definitely have a million doubts in
your mind, but you have to look forward or you just have to hope
for the best.” Hollins said he’s never felt this good
about an individual performance since his freshman year against
Georgetown, when he scored 14 points and snagged nine rebounds to
break a Bruin nine-game losing streak. Hollins’ numbers have
increased in every statistical category. In the past four games,
Hollins averaged 26 minutes, nine points (75 percent shooting from
the field), 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. Before, he was averaging
17 minutes, 3.7 points (44 percent from the field), 2.6 rebounds
and 0.6 blocks. His aggression, energy and attitude have undergone
the biggest changes in his final season as a Bruin. Hollins
attributes the change to the support of the people around him.
“There were times when I was done and out I got a lot of
family and friends that stayed on me and kept a positive message on
me,” Hollins said. In both games on the Oregon trip, Hollins
set the tempo, throwing down a two-handed dunk to open each game.
Hollins had three thunderous dunks against the Beavers, one with
13:54 to go in the second half where he promptly skipped backward,
screaming, “Let’s go!” Hollins intimidates
opponents on defense, using his long wing span to contest and block
shots. He’s also willing to give up his body. Against the
Beavers in the second half, Hollins drew back-to-back charges to
give the Bruins some much-needed momentum. Most of all, he’s
gained confidence. “I was messing up earlier on in the year
worrying about coming out earlier, looking over your shoulder,
messing up on assignment,” Hollins said. “(If you do
that) you’re going to mess up. So I figured by going hard,
hitting the rebounds, playing good defense, blocking shots, coach
will leave me in. It’s been working so far.” Coach Ben
Howland trusts his senior. “I’m proud of him because
he’s playing within himself,” Howland said.
“He’s not trying to do too much. He’s letting the
game come to him. And that’s what smart players do. “I
just think Ryan Hollins is in the realization that this is it. It
happens all the time to seniors across the country. This is it.
This is senior year, it’s done, it’s over. All he has
left is nine league games and postseason.”
BOZEMAN BACK: Senior guard Cedric Bozeman
returned to the starting lineup against Oregon State. He logged 25
minutes of play and recorded four points and three rebounds. After
returning to play last Thursday against Oregon after missing the
previous eight games with torn cartilage in his left shoulder,
Bozeman is trying to get back in the groove of things. “It
felt pretty good,” said Bozeman on his shoulder. “Any
spot I can fill in, I’ll be ready. “I’m a little
beat up. Shoulder’s a little sore. Knee is a little sore. But
I know that’s going to be part of the deal. You might not see
me at 100 percent, but I’m going to be out there, going as
much as I can.”