TicketsNov. 10, 2011
By Jeremy Powers
Every program seems to strive to have a notable hometown hero.
The men's basketball program at the University of Cincinnati publicized Yancy Gates' arrival to UC in 2008 as the next Cincinnati native to star in the red, white and black. Now fans and the community are rallying around Gates and the 2011 Bearcats in hope for a repeat berth to the NCAA tournament.
The other basketball program on campus, the Bearcat women, have a new guard, Dayeesha Hollins, who played for Winton Woods high school while growing up in Cincinnati. Hollins is the Bearcats' new leader on the court and is poised to become the city's next hometown hero.
Ever since her transfer from the University of Michigan, Hollins has been impressing her coaches during practices and showing why she averaged 12.0 points per game during her freshman campaign as a Wolverine. Hollins is expected to be one of, if not the primary scorer this season.
"She did that all last year in practice," said head coach Jamelle Elliott. "She was on our practice squad all last year and she was doing those exact same things against us in practice every day. Obviously, we talked all last year about her having to step up after Shareese Ulis graduated and she stepped in and played her role to perfection."
For Hollins, the road to UC may not have been an easy one. Originally wishing to move away from home to start her college career and a new chapter in her life, Hollins' yearning for her family's support drove her back to the Queen City and to a program that was in dire need for her talent.
"I know it was only three hours away, but I needed my family a lot and needed that support," Hollins said. "I'm going to be one of the primary scorers, so I have to get out there and do what I need to do, get my teammates involved, and be a scoring point guard like I was at Michigan."
Hollins supporters came out in full force during her first game at Fifth Third Arena on Saturday, November 5 when UC opened its exhibition play against Northern Kentucky. While every starter received moderate applause from the crowd, Hollins' caused more of an uproar and she says that is predicated to the size and personality of her family, who is always in attendance.
"I heard it, but I just figured it was everyone just clapping," Hollins said. "I didn't realize it was just for me. I'm excited for the people that will be coming and I hope I can bring in more fans. Back in high school my family was always there at the games and always supportive of me. For me seeing them happy makes me happy."
Just being able to get home cooked meals on occasion was enough to persuade the 5-6 guard to leave Michigan for UC. While she does not regret her decision of going to Michigan out of high school she also does not regret leaving. The program is glad to have her, and Coach Elliott, who has seen incredible talent while an assistant coach at Connecticut, had some extra praise for the Cincinnati native.
"She came poised, ready to go," Elliott said. "She had the experienced, had the talent, had the work ethic. She's been a huge, huge addition to our program and she's probably the quickest basketball player I've seen with the ball."
Her quickness showed during her first start in which she was able to score 18 points, during her homecoming. She dominated the team's up-tempo style of play, getting easy buckets in transition while also stepping out to three-point territory when she wanted to. She may have been nervous, but she was able to score the first five points for the Bearcats, keeping herself and her family happy.
"Obviously because I'm here at home I was a little nervous, but other than that nothing was very different," Hollins said. "I shot an air ball in warm-ups so I felt good after that. But I felt calmer after making my first shot."
Fifth Third Arena could not have been a better place for her to get her first start as a Bearcat. After their scrimmage in Muncie, Ind. against Ball State, Hollins gained excitement to see and play in front of her friends and family. Now her excitement turns to the teams' first regular season game this Friday.
"Just the fact that I was able to see my family and friends here, and people from Cincinnati here, actually being at my first game, that made me really excited," Hollins said. "It was way better than being away."
A scoring machine, a great teammate, and possibly the next hometown hero makes it worthwhile seeing Hollins take over Ed Jucker Court. She has bought into the program and is willing to do whatever it takes to put women's basketball at UC back on the map.
"Whatever I need to do and what ever Coach [Elliott] needs me to do, I'll definitely going to do it," Hollins said. "If she tells me to shoot it, that's what I'm going to do."
Hollins' and the Bearcats' next tilt will also be at Fifth Third Arena in front of her family's support and other UC faithful. They take on IPFW on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.