Damian Angelo Hollis (born August 19, 1988) is a Hungarian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Astros de Jalisco Astros de Jalisco (English: ''Jalisco Astros'') is a professional Mexican basketball team, based in Guadalajara, Jalisco. The Astros are part the CIBACOPA and the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, the top professional basketball league in M ...

of the CIBACOPA. Born in the United States, he has represented Hungary in international competition.

Early life

Hollis was born in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. His father,

Essie Essie is a given name and nickname/hypocorism usually used as a feminine name. As a standalone name, ''Essie'' can be found in several languages, including Romance, Germanic, and Persian ones. In each case, the name means "star." As a nickname, ...

, was a basketball player. When he was younger and started sports, basketball was the last sport he played. Damian started in soccer then baseball and he was better at those than he was basketball. Hollis started actually being good when he was around 14 years old, working with his father, who played in the NBA 1 year for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

and 14 years in Europe. By the time Hollis got to high school, he already stopped playing soccer though it was his first love but his new decision was between baseball and basketball. Damian loved baseball because it was easier for him, but basketball was just more exciting, so Hollis decided to continue that in college. Hollis attended

J. P. Taravella High School J. P. Taravella High School is a secondary school located in Coral Springs, Florida which teaches grades 9–12. The school is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district. The school was named after Joseph Phillip Taravella (1919–1978), ...

Coral Springs, Florida Coral Springs, officially the City of Coral Springs, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. C ...

, where he was a four-year starter on the basketball team, as well as a three-time team MVP. As a senior, he averaged 22.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game and earned all-county honors from the ''

Sun Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...

''.

College career

After a successful career in high school, Hollis wanted to keep playing basketball in college. His dream school was North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He got scholarship offers from about 100 Division I and II school but North Carolina wasn't one of them. As time went on, Hollis assumed that they would never want him so he committed to George Washington University who was number 3 in the nation at the time. A few days later while he was in class, a coach from North Carolina called his phone asking if he has committed to a college yet. They were ready to offer him a scholarship but he couldn't take it. Dame went into a depression over the next few weeks. He had to stay with his commitment despite this school being his dream come true.

Professional career

From 2010 to 2013, Hollis played with Hungarian club Albacomp. In the 2012–13 season, Hollis won the Hungarian Championship and the

Hungarian Cup The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...

with Bericap Alba Fehérvár (the new name of Albacomp Fehérvár). In August 2013, Hollis signed a one-year deal with

Angelico Biella Pallacanestro Biella, known as Angelico Biella for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Biella, Piedmont. It plays in the second division Serie A2 as of the 2015-16 season. For past club sponsorship names, see ...

. In July 2014, Hollis signed with

Pallacanestro Cantù Pallacanestro Cantù, known for sponsorship reasons as Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Cantù, Lombardy. On the European-wide club competition scene, Cantù is second to Real Madrid – again ...

for the 2014–15 season. On March 23, 2015, he parted ways with Cantù and signed with Rethymno Aegean for the rest of the

2014–15 Greek Basket League The 2014–15 Greek Basket League was the 75th season of the Greek Basket League, the highest tier professional basketball league in Greece. The season started on October 12, 2014 and ended June 14, 2015. Olympiacos won the title, after they bea ...

season. On August 5, 2015, Hollis signed with Basket Brescia Leonessa of the Italian

Serie A2 Basket Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with pro ...

. On July 24, 2016, Hollis joined Portuguese club

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...

in the

Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol The Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol ( en, Portuguese Basketball League), also known as Liga Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional club basketball league in Portugal. History From the 2008–09 season onward, the competit ...

. On August 2, 2017, Hollis signed with Italian club

Pallacanestro Varese Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian basketball league system, Italian first ...

for the 2017–18 season. On January 26, 2018, he parted ways with Varese after averaging 6.8 points per game in LBA. The same day, he signed with Bergamo for the rest of the 2017–18 Serie A2 Basket season. He signed with Benfica in July 2019. He averaged 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. On July 30, 2020, Hollis signed with Agribertocchi Orzinuovi of the

. On January 4, 2023, Hollis signed with the Angolan club Petro de Luanda of the

Angolan Basketball League The Angolan Men's Basketball League, (in Portuguese: Campeonato Nacional de Basquetebol em Séniores Masculinos) is the top tier men’s basketball league in Angola. The league was formerly known as BAI Basket, BIC Basket and Unitel Basket, named ...

and the

Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is Africa's premier men's basketball league. The league consists of twelve teams, each qualified through their domestic competition, similar to the format of the UEFA Champions League. The league is a joint eff ...

(BAL). In March 2023, he won the

Angolan Cup Angolan may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Angola *Angolan people; see Demographics of Angola *Angolan culture *Angolar Creole *Something of, from, or related to the historical Bantu Kingdom of Ndongo *A resident of: **Angola, New Y ...

with Petro. Hollis joined the

of the

Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacífico The Basketball Circuit of the Pacific Coast ( or ''CIBACOPA'') is a basketball league based in Northwestern Mexico. As of 2018, it involves 10 clubs, primarily from northwest Mexico. The matches take place from March to June. History A league wi ...

(CIBACOPA) ahead of the 2024 CIBACOPA season.

National team career

Having previously represented the United States Under-19 national team in 2007, in the fall of 2012, Hollis became a dual citizen of Hungary in the hope of playing for the

Hungary national basketball team The Hungary men's national basketball team ( hu, Magyar nemzeti kosárlabda-válogatott) represents Hungary in international basketball tournaments. It is governed by the Hungarian Basketball Federation (MKOSZ). Hungary's best period during int ...

Hungarian career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;", Albacomp Fehérvár , 26 , , 15 , , 27.3 , , .510 , , .360 , , .827 , , 6.3 , , 1 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , 13 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Albacomp Fehérvár , 25 , , 20 , , 27.1 , , .648 , , .380 , , .827 , , 5.6 , , 1.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.5 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;", Alba Fehérvár , 21 , , 21 , , 28.0 , , .626 , , .375 , , .860 , , 5.6 , , 1.5 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , 13.0 , -class="unsortable" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 72 , , 56 , , 27.4 , , .594 , , .372 , , .838 , , 5.9 , , 1.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.4 , , 13.8

Pre-Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013 , style="text-align:left;",

Alba Fehérvár Alba Fehérvár are a Hungarian professional basketball club based in Székesfehérvár that compete Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the premier division of basketball in Hungary. Founded as the successor of Székesfehérvári MDSE, they took the Hungarian ...

, 10 , , 8 , , 24.6 , , .508 , , .296 , , .733 , , 5.8 , , 1.1 , , 1 , , 0.5 , , 11.2 , -class="unsortable" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 10 , , 8 , , 24.6 , , .508 , , .296 , , .733 , , 5.8 , , 1.1 , , 1 , , 0.5 , , 11.2

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2011 , style="text-align:left;", Albacomp Fehérvár , 10 , , 2 , , 24.1 , , .609 , , .347 , , .833 , , 6 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , 1 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012 , style="text-align:left;", Albacomp Fehérvár , 8 , , 8 , , 27.3 , , .682 , , .407 , , .857 , , 5 , , 1.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.5 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013 , style="text-align:left;", Bericap Albacomp Fehérvár , 14 , , 14 , , 30.6 , , .538 , , .405 , , .769 , , 6.6 , , 1.6 , , 1.9 , , 0.6 , , 14.8 , -class="unsortable" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hungarian Cup

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2011 , style="text-align:left;", Albacomp Fehérvár , 6 , , 6 , , 28.5 , , 0.533 , , 0.312 , , 0.818 , , 6.3 , , 1.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012 , style="text-align:left;", Albacomp Fehérvár , 6 , , 6 , , 27.1 , , 0.614 , , 0.461 , , 0.642 , , 5.2 , , 1.6 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 16.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013 , style="text-align:left;", Alba Fehérvár , 6 , , 6 , , 26.8 , , 0.615 , , 0.524 , , 0.950 , , 5.3 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.7 , , 16.7 , -class="unsortable" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 18 , , 18 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Full career

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;", Albacomp Fehérvár , 42 , , 23 , , 26.7 , , .538 , , .350 , , .827 , , 6.2 , , 1 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 12.5 , -class= , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Albacomp Fehérvár , 39 , , 34 , , 27.2 , , .652 , , .397 , , .824 , , 5.4 , , 1.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.4 , , 15.6 , -class="unsortable" , style="text-align:left;", Total , style="text-align:left;", , 81 , , 57 , , 26.9 , , .596 , , .373 , , .826 , , 5.8 , , 1.1 , , 1.6 , , 0.5 , , 14

References

External links

Damian Hollis - MKOSZ

Damian Hollis' profile
at albakosar.hu
RealGMprofile

EuroLeague profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollis, Damian 1988 births Living people Alba Fehérvár players American expatriate basketball people in Angola American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Hungary American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Portugal Astros de Jalisco players Basket Brescia Leonessa players George Washington Revolutionaries men's basketball players Lega Basket Serie A players Pallacanestro Biella players Pallacanestro Cantù players Pallacanestro Varese players Rethymno B.C. players S.L. Benfica basketball players Small forwards Sportspeople from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Basketball players from Broward County, Florida American men's basketball players Atlético Petróleos de Luanda basketball players