Although somewhat rare, there is a long-standing history of athletes who share bloodlines. Whether father-son (Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr.), sibling-sibling (Venus and Serena Williams/Seth and Steph Curry), or something slightly more distant like cousin-cousin (Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady), there’s definitely something interesting about this natural occurrence. Take Lavar Ball for example, someone who literally chose his potential mate with the intent of developing athletes. Not only did he actually follow-through, but his plan more than worked out with all three sons eventually making it to the NBA. In looking deeper, it’s clear that the athletic background typically holds up across multiple generations. Even North Carolina’s most recent example, the Langley brothers, spanned throughout their entire family. While it’s not a sibling-sibling relationship like most, it appears like Drew Hollifield is set to become the next high-level talent from a long lineage of athletes.
Perhaps folks reading this have already heard the name “Hollifield” from Shelby High School, which would make sense considering Drew is actually the fifth member of the family to attend the school. In order to understand the current generation of Hollifields, we must divulge deeper into their family tree. Everything began with Dale and Diane Hollifield. Both alumni of Western Carolina, Dale was a three-year member of the football team in the 1960s. Soon thereafter, they had three sons, Aubrey, Ryan, and Andy Hollifield. The oldest, Aubrey, was actually a three-sport athlete and football star who went on to further his playing career at Wake Forest. He’s since become one of the most decorated coaches across North Carolina. The middle, Ryan, blazed his own path by choosing to play basketball at the next level for Appalachian State. The youngest, Andy, also advanced his education and playing career at Appalachian State. Already seems like an extremely successful family of athletes' Just wait.
Following their collegiate careers, each of the brothers decided to build families of their own and continue breeding athletes. The oldest (and arguably most well-known) of the third-generation Hollifields were Aubrey’s sons, Dax and Jack. During his incredible high school career, Dax probably became the best athlete to grace the Hollifield name. He was an All-American twice, earned his four-star status, and ultimately evolved into a staple for Virginia Tech. His younger brother, Jack, is also at Virginia Tech and set to begin his freshman year. Meanwhile, Ryan had two daughters, Kate and Ally, who are both basketball stars for the current Shelby Golden Lions. Given their production and translatable abilities, both girls seem to be definite locks to advance their game to the next level.
After three consecutive generations of athletic success, there’s clearly something deeper brewing within this family. Add in the oldest of Andy’s children, Drew, and each of the three brothers are guaranteed to have at least one child playing collegiate athletics. Despite being the youngest of everyone mentioned, it’s already incredibly easy to see special qualities emerging within Drew’s game and overall identity as a tough, intelligent two-way floor general. For starters, he was the only non-senior within Shelby’s primary rotation. While some folks might point to the fact that he’s related to the coach, one could argue that the young Hollifield actually should’ve warranted more touches. As a freshman, he posted nightly averages of 11.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, and 1.6 SPG with impressive shooting splits of 49/44/69. With over 75% of their scoring set to graduate, one should expect Hollifield to potentially double (and maybe triple) his production across the board. He legitimately offers a complete identity from the point guard position, which allows him to run the team with poise and precision or establish himself as an efficient scoring option from all three levels. Hollifield finds equal amounts of success with or without the ball in his hands. His strong feel for the game is evident in every facet of the game and with every movement he makes. Throughout the travel ball season, Hollifield has found ways to effortlessly shine as an all-around leader of NC Rim Runners. Though young, Division I coaches would be wise to start tracking him immediately. After all, he is still a Hollifield.