MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin McHale's picture hangs in the rafters of Williams Arena, his No. 44 long since retired. McHale went on to a Hall of Fame career in the NBA, but not until first leaving his mark on the University of Minnesota's basketball program.
Gophers senior Andre Hollins will almost assuredly surpass McHale -- as well as former Minnesota forward Sam Jacobson â for fourth place on the program's all-time scoring list Wednesday night against Northwestern. Hollins' 1,703 career points are just one point behind McHale and six behind Jacobson. That's not to say that Hollins is a better player than either McHale or Jacobson, but it does go to show the type of impact the Memphis native has had during his impressive Gophers career -- one that's nearing an end.
Including Wednesday, Hollins and the rest of his fellow seniors have just five regular-season games remaining in their college careers. They'll also play in the Big Ten tournament and possibly another postseason tournament, be in NCAA or NIT. This chapter of Hollins' basketball career is quickly coming to a close, and he's playing like someone who doesn't want it to end.
"This is my last chance to play college basketball at Minnesota," Hollins said. "I want to go out a winner. I'm just giving it my all, mentally and physically, and as a leader, trying to give the team everything I have."
Hollins burst onto the national scene as a sophomore when he scorched his hometown Memphis Tigers for 41 points to lift the Gophers to an upset win. Since then he's led Minnesota in scoring in each of the last three seasons, including this year's career-best 15.2 points per game.
But Hollins' senior season didn't get off to the best of starts. He dealt with an ankle injury that hampered him for a number of games, and he lost his shooting touch in the early portion of the Big Ten schedule. In his first four conference games, Hollins hit just 10 of 46 field-goal attempts, a 21.7 percent clip. Many wondered what happened to Hollins, whose career seemed to stagnate a bit after his breakout sophomore campaign.
It was the Gophers' game against Rutgers where Hollins flipped the switch. He scored a season-high 31 points, the most he scored in a game since that 41-point game against Memphis. Including that 31-point effort, Hollins has scored 20 or more points in five of Minnesota's last eight games. He's averaging 21.25 points a game over that stretch and has asserted himself as the Gophers' top scoring threat.
Minnesota second-year coach Richard Pitino said earlier in the year that his team didn't have a best player. Hollins is proving his coach wrong over the last few weeks.
"He's pulling away in that race, for sure," Pitino said Tuesday. "He's playing like our best player. I did not think since I've been here we've had one guy who has consistently played like our best player until now, until the last couple games."
Knowing his team needs wins to possibly sneak into the NCAA tournament, Hollins has done pretty much everything in his power to will his team to victories. His 31 points against Rutgers gave Minnesota a nine-point win. Hollins followed that up with a 21-point, 11-rebound effort against Nebraska, which wasn't quite enough as the Gophers lost by three on the road.
But Hollins was once again Minnesota's best player in a win against Illinois as he scored 28 points in the Gophers' eight-point win. Minnesota also needed every one of his team-high 18 points in a four-point victory over Purdue.
It hasn't just been scoring that has vaulted Hollins into the discussion of the Gophers' best player. His 4.1 rebounds per game are easily a career high and are second only to center Mo Walker. Hollins is also connecting on 44.6 percent of his 3-pointers, the best mark in his four years. And he's doing all of that while playing a career-high 30.8 minutes per game.
Hollins was asked Tuesday: what's been the biggest difference from the first half to the second half?
"I just started hitting shots," Hollins said. "I've been a lot more aggressive offensively. At the beginning I was a little timid. I wasn't trying to score every time or attack every time I possibly could."
Hollins has indeed been attacking the basket at a higher rate and has been rewarded for it. He scored 20 points in a five-point road win at Iowa to extend Minnesota's winning streak to four games, and he again led the Gophers with 23 points in Sunday's loss to Indiana in which the Hoosiers hit a school record 18 3-pointers.
Sitting now at 5-8 in the Big Ten and 16-10 overall, Minnesota has plenty of work to do in its final five regular-season games if it hopes to sneak into the NCAA tournament. The Gophers will play three of those five games at home, but must face No. 5 Wisconsin twice between now and the Big Ten tournament.
If the Gophers do go on a late-season run, you can bet that Minnesota's best player will be leading the charge.
"I think since Rutgers he's understood that this is his last hurrah and he's making the most of it and doing a lot of things, and he's trying to pull everybody with him," Pitino said. "He's doing a great job of it. The Indiana game, you could tell he was fighting, showing great leadership. He knows it's almost over. He wants to go out a winner."
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