Troy University Athletics
Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2023
It’s very rare that a player joins a team and can have an immediate impact that will last the entirety of a program’s history. Carl Hollis is one of those exceptional people in his time playing for the Troy men’s basketball team from 1973-77.
When Hollis joined the Trojans in 1973, he was thrust into the spotlight as a premier scorer for the program. As a freshman, Hollis scored 416 points for 16.6 per game. Through 25 games, Hollis shot 43 percent from the field and 83 percent from the charity stripe. That season, the Troy community and new head coach Wes Bizilia knew they had someone special.Â
“Carl came to us from Headland, Ala., after his father and two brothers,” former Athletic Director and Troy Sports Hall of Fame member Robert Stewart said. “He came with impeccable character. He was a natural-born leader from the moment he stepped on the court. He and David Felix gave us one of the best one-two tandems in Troy’s history. He was a pure scorer and a gifted rebounder.”
His scoring contributions continued into his sophomore season with Troy, improving to a career-high 16.8 points per game at 420 total points scored on 46.9 percent from the field and 77.6 percent from the line.Â
Hollis produced on all levels his second season, earning All-Gulf South Conference honors in 1974-75 after averaging a double-double with 12.4 rebounds per game. He wasn’t done collecting the accolades in 1975, being named the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year and an All-America honorable mention. The bowtie for Hollis’s spectacular season was the most wins in the Bizilia era, where the Trojans ended at 18-8, 8-5 GSC that included 11 wins at home.Â
The accolades continued into his junior season (1975-76), again being named to the All-GSC team and an All-America honorable mention with 16.4 points on a career-high 49.2 percent from the field. He led the Trojans to the NCAA South Regional Tournament, where they grabbed an 88-85 victory over Jacksonville State in the first round.
His senior year, Hollis cemented himself in Troy program history. Individually, he became the first player in GSC history to earn all-conference honors in three or more seasons. He even became the all-time leading scorer with 1,747 points for seven years until Marvin Madison surpassed it by four points in 1984. However, what separated that season was Hollis finally reached the peak as a team, bringing Troy back from a 2-7 start to finish 15-14, 11-5 GSC to be named regular season co-champions for the first time in program history.
“He was the glue that held the team together,” Stewart said. “When the team struggled to start the season, Hollis was the guy that would bring them all together and keep them pushing. If it wasn’t for his leadership and how he united the team, we wouldn’t have turned things around to win the conference.”
Over 40 years after Hollis hung up the playing shoes, he still stands as Troy’s all-time leader in field goals made at 789. He also ranks fifth in scoring and second in rebounds at 1,124.Â
“What separated him from all other players was that he wasn’t at Troy just to play basketball,” Stewart said. “He was on a mission to get a degree from Troy to impact people’s lives. That’s why, even after he used his four years of eligibility, I saw to it that he could stay and graduate because I knew he had the potential to become something greater than basketball.”
Hollis did become greater than basketball, impacting lives on many levels as he became a police officer, preacher, teacher and head coach at Charles Henderson High School for 21 seasons. As a coach, Hollis used his leadership capabilities to lead the Trojans to 10 Area Championships, four Elite 8 and two Final Four appearances.
“He could arguably be the best player ever to put on a Troy uniform and is definitively one of the top five,” former teammate and Troy Hall of Famer David Felix said. “I’m so excited to see Hollis get inducted. It is well overdue, and I’m so happy for him and his family.”
