Aces top draft pick has exceeded her own expectations

Surrounded by family and friends, she tries to clear her eyes with her left hand as her name and picture flash across the TV screen.

“I was just enjoying the moment, living in the moment,” she said.

Shot at Christian’s Tailgate Bar & Grill in her hometown of Houston, the video captures the moment Hollingshed was selected No. 8 overall in the 2022 WNBA draft by the Aces.

For the former Colorado star, who didn’t start playing competitive basketball until eighth grade, being drafted in the first round has been an exclamation point in her meteoric rise to professional basketball.

“I never really talked about going to the WNBA,” Hollingshed said.

Though she didn’t begin playing basketball early in her childhood, Hollingshed comes from an athletic family. Her father, Leroy, played basketball at Grambling and Alcorn State. Her grandfather, Terry Sykes, was a second-round draft pick of the Washington Bullets in 1978. Despite the family’s basketball heritage, the first sport Hollingshed played was soccer.

Her career on the pitch didn’t last long. Hollingshed’s mother, Modeane Walker, felt she was too competitive and pulled her out of the league.

After playing basketball in small church leagues, Hollingshed began to take the sport seriously in middle school. A productive AAU season after her eighth grade year began to get her some attention from college scouts.

“It was never, ‘This is in my blood, I’m doing this,’” Walker said. “There’s so much naturalness to what she does.”

Hollingshed remained uncommitted to a college until her senior year. But after taking an official visit to Colorado, she chose to play for the Buffaloes, 1,000 miles away from home.

The adjustment was difficult, but while playing for coach J.R. Payne, Hollingshed quickly established herself and began to grow. She refined her game, especially on the perimeter where she emerged as one of the team’s best 3-point shooters.

Payne credited Hollingshed as being integral to the establishment of the team’s culture during her five years with the team.

Payne saw Hollingshed emerge as a leader. The Colorado coach said her cool, calm nature can make the 6-foot-3-inch forward a bit of an introvert. But during her time with the Buffaloes, Hollingshed began to establish herself and step out of her comfort zone.

She was the Colorado athletics department’s commencement speaker during the virtual graduation ceremony in 2021. Payne said community members consistently reach out to her praising Hollingshed’s engagement and interest in making a positive impact on the people around her.

“She’s grown in every single way possible,” Payne said.

Now, Hollingshed is in a position to grow again. The Aces are a veteran team with championship aspirations. The former Colorado forward is excited to learn from her older teammates.

While the Aces’ first game is still a week away, Hollingshed and the rest of the Las Vegas rookies will have their first chance to get on the floor Sunday when the team plays its only exhibition game against the Minnesota Lynx.

For Hollingshed, it’ll be another milestone on a journey which she wasn’t even imagining just a few years ago.

“It just kind of happened,” she said.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.