Curtis Hollis: The Stops On His Journey to Canada

Canada is the latest stop on a journey that has taken Curtis Hollis all over the world pursuing basketball. It was his second year playing in the Great North, as a member of the KW Titans, when he became legendary to the fans in Kitchener and beyond.

Starting the 2023-24 season, Hollis had 31 points in two of his first three games, beginning an incredible scoring run in the Super League. At season's end he scored in double digits in all but one game and averaged 25.9 points, the second highest in the BSL. In addition he was in the league's top ten for total rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.

His stand-out season also saw him put up seven double-doubles and two forty-point games. Saving the best for last, Hollis put up a sensational 46 points in game four of the Finals against the London Lightning. A firehouse on offence all season long, he earned himself a place on the All-BSL First Team.

Hollis has come a long way from when he first played basketball at Mansfield Summit high school in Arlington, Texas. For his senior year he transferred to the Advanced Prep in Dallas, where he played football as a wide receiver in addition to basketball. He was state champion in basketball and MVP of a Dallas Cowboys youth camp.

At Advanced Prep, he was team mated with future NBA alumni Billy Preston and Terrence Ferguson. At the same time he competed in Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League, where he played alongside Trae Young and DeAndre Ayton. Exposure to such talent at such a young age must have given him the boost to push himself and strive for more as his career progressed.

After graduating, Hollis joined the Hutchinson Blue Dragons in the NJCAA, averaging 6.9 points per game on 50% field shooting in the 2017-18 season before turning professionally. He played for Houston in the short-lived JBA, averaging 29.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists and reaching the playoff semi finals. He then suited up for Dragons Rhondrof in Germany, putting up 22.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.0 steals in 18 games.

After trying out with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the G League, Hollis signed with Caneros Del Este in the Dominican Republic, where he scored 45 points on his first appearance and averaged 16.0 points on the season. The next season he had another try out in the G League, this time with the Motor City Cruise, but instead made his debut in Canada.

Signing with the Sudbury Five in February 2023, Hollis scored in double digits in his first five games and had seven twenty-point performances on the season, where he averaged 15.5 points on 48.9% shooting in 18 games. He left Sudbury to compete in the Basketball Africa League with the Cape Town Tigers, with whom he reached the playoff quarter finals.

The 2023-24 season proved to be a busy one for Hollis: He played for JBC in Zimbabwe; Los Indios de Moreno in Argentina; Bangui in the Central African Republic; and the Vancouver Bandits in the CEBL in addition to reaching the Super League finals with the KW Titans.

Curtis Hollis's dedication to basketball has seen him travel the world to pursue his professional ambitions, and he has brought the wealth of his far-reaching experience to Canada, where it has paid off for him in the Super League and the KW Titans, for whom he played a key role in their run to the 2024 Finals. Only time will tell if he can help the team do it again in a year's time.