Damian Angelo Hollis (born August 19, 1988) is a Hungarian professional basketball player for the Astros de Jalisco of the CIBACOPA. Born in the United States, he has represented Hungary in international competition.
Early life
Hollis was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His father, Essie, was a basketball player.[1] 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 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.[citation needed]
Hollis attended J. P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs, Florida, where he was a four-year starter on the basketball team, as well as a three-time team MVP.[2] 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.[2]
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.[citation needed]
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 with Bericap Alba Fehérvár (the new name of Albacomp Fehérvár).
On August 2, 2017, Hollis signed with Italian club Pallacanestro Varese for the 2017–18 season.[9] On January 26, 2018, he parted ways with Varese after averaging 6.8 points per game in LBA.[10] The same day, he signed with Bergamo for the rest of the 2017–18 Serie A2 Basket season.[11][12]
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.[18]
