Easy Essie: An NBA Dream Manifested Into Reality

This week, Etcetera with the Woodards sits down with Essie Hollis, one of the most accomplished basketball players ever produced by the city of Erie.At Strong Vincent, Hollis was a high school All-American who exploded for 753 points and a 30.1-point-per-game average during the 1972–73 season, leading the Colonels to city and district championships. And that was only the beginning.At St. Bonaventure University, Hollis amassed 1,905 career points and 977 rebounds, averaged 17.5 points per game for his career, became a two-time ECAC All-Star in 1976 and 1977, served as co-captain of the 1977 NIT Championship team, and scored 24 points in the championship victory over Houston. He helped the Bonnies win 72 games during his four-year career and was named the team's MVP as a senior.Hollis was selected in the second round of the 1977 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Jazz, 44th overall, and went on to play for the Detroit Pistons, becoming the first basketball player from Erie to reach the NBA. His career then took him overseas, where he became a major figure in European basketball. During two ACB seasons with Baskonia, he averaged 24.5 points and 8.3 rebounds, including an incredible 53-point game; in 1983–84 he averaged 27 points per game and ranked first in the league in overall player rating.His legacy has been recognized on both sides of the Atlantic: Hollis was inducted into the Erie Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and the St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988; his No. 25 was retired by St. Bonaventure, and he was later selected to the Bonnies’ Centennial All-Time Team.