Shaheen Holloway has definitely been about that life for many decades now.
An awesome old picture of the Saint Peter’s head coach with the late Kobe Bryant went viral this week. The photo, posted by Darius Alford on Twitter, was from the McDonald’s All-American Game in 1996.
Holloway, then of Saint Patrick High School in New Jersey, was the starting point guard for the East team in that game. Bryant, who was still with Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania at the time, was Holloway’s backcourt partner as the East’s starting shooting guard. In the end, it was Holloway who won MVP honors with seven points, eight assists and six steals.
Holloway never made it to the NBA. He went undrafted in 2000 and spent the next several years playing for various overseas and semi-pro teams. Now in 2022, Holloway has made a name for himself as the head coach of Saint Peter’s, the first No. 15 seed in NCAA history to make the Elite Eight.
The Peacocks have already won the hearts of many with their Cinderella run. Now knowing that their coach was destined for greatness at a young age, as evidenced by this brush with the Mamba as teenager, makes it even better.
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