college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
player for the
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...
. He won three consecutive
national championships
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
with the Bruins from 1971 to 1973, and helped the school to a record 88-game consecutive win streak.
Hollyfield earned player of year honors playing
high school basketball
High school basketball, also known as prep basketball, is the sport of basketball as played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada.
Top high school athletes often go on to play college basketball after ...
in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
before playing one year in
junior college
A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...
, where he earned all-state honors. He transferred to UCLA, where he was a starter in his third and final season. From his junior year in high school through his final season at UCLA, Hollyfield's teams lost just one game while winning championships in each of his six seasons. In 1973 he was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA) but never played for them. Instead he went overseas, playing during the 1975–76 season for ADB Koblenz in the German Basketball Bundesliga.
High school career
Hollyfield attended
Compton High School
Compton High School is a high school in Compton, California, United States, part of the Compton Unified School District.
History
Compton Union High School opened in 1896. Both the high school and Compton Junior High School were severely damag ...
, where his teams lost only three times in his career. He won championships in each of his final two years with a combined record of 66–0. In his senior year as a forward, he averaged 18.8
points
A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to:
Mathematics
* Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...
in 30 games with a
field goal percentage
Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...
of 56 percent, and the
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...
unanimously named him the 1969
California Interscholastic Federation
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...
(CIF) Player of the Year.
College career
Hollyfield played one season at Compton Junior College (later known as El Camino College Compton Center), where he averaged 22 points and was named to the all-state team. The team went undefeated at 33–0, and won the state title.
He then transferred to UCLA for their 1970–71 season, when they won a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I championship. Although he received minimal playing time during the regular season, he was ineligible for the postseason due to
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
restrictions on junior college transfers. In his junior year, the , Hollyfield was described by UCLA coach
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Westwood", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, nati ...
as "probably the greatest physical talent on the team". However, the coach also said Hollyfield's mistakes and inconsistent play made him more suited for UCLA's bench where "he gives us a big lift." A natural forward, he moved out of position to
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison gu ...
as a senior, replacing the departed Henry Bibby in the
starting lineup
In sports, a starting lineup is an official list of the set of players who will participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as ''starters'', whereas the others are substitutes or b ...
. ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' wrote, "The feeling was that Hollyfield had to be forced onto the starting five this season or be a detriment to the team."That season ended with a championship over Memphis State in the 1973 NCAA Tournament, extending the school's NCAA record winning steak to 75; the streak ended at 88 after Hollyfield left.
Hollyfield finished his UCLA career with a championship in each of his three seasons. Since his junior year in high school, his teams had a combined record of 184–1 with championships in each of the six seasons.
Post-college years
Hollyfield was selected by the
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...
in the seventh round of the
1973 NBA draft
The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...
with the 105th overall pick, but he never played professionally. Bibby called Hollyfield "one of best players to go through UCLA and not make pros." According to his former teammate, Hollyfield played behind many great players at UCLA, but "he could have been an All-American on many other teams."
When he was 32, he received a prosthetic left leg after a circulation problem in his left foot required
amputation
Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...
. In 2009, he suffered a
stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...