WATCH: Nia Hollie speaks with Stars rookie Nia Coffey
By Mike Peden
San Antonio Stars forward Nia Coffey once made a dunk attempt in high school. Standing at 6-1 with a solid vertical, her teammates at Hopkins High School (Minnesota) challenged her to go above the rim during a game.
“I have to explain to people the story behind that,” Coffey said. “I promised I would it do it so we could go to dinner.”
Coffey explained to Nia Hollie, a correspondent for The Summitt, how her endeavor to rise up fell a few inches short.
“First of all, I got poked in the eye, and then all of a sudden I see you pass to Mikaala (Shackelford)…’Oh, this is it. I might as well try.’ Nothing came out of it,” Coffey said.
In terms of posters, Coffey was correct. However, Coffey and Hollie gained a tremendous respect for each other in their lone season together at Hopkins. Coffey was a senior who received multiple accolades and an invite to the McDonald’s All-American Game and WBCA High School All-American Game. Hollie was a freshman whose talents would be saluted a few years later, when she was named Miss Basketball Minnesota.
After prep careers that included multiple state titles, Coffey and Hollie met again this past winter, this time as opponents. Coffey was a member of Northwestern, while Hollie went to Michigan State. They were assigned to guard each other for a time during their Jan. 17 meeting, a surreal moment for Northwestern’s all-time leader in rebounds.
“Just being on the court at the same time, on different teams, that was weird,” Coffey said.
Coffey tried to lighten the mood, and ended up messing with Hollie’s psyche.
“When I walked in, I was like ‘Don’t talk to her, don’t talk to her.’ You were like, ‘Hey Nia!’ ” Hollie said. “It threw me off and we were already losing.”
“You did look a little shocked when I said that,” Coffey replied.
The two laugh about that interaction as opponents, but Coffey also shared a few thoughts on her rookie season with the Stars, who drafted her in the first round.
“You’re on your own. You don’t have team meals. You don’t have curfew, you don’t have meetings.” she said. “I’m used to constantly being around my teammates in college, but that’s not the case here.”
To hear more from the two Nias, including the only time Coffey rooted against Northwestern in a game, watch the video at the top of the page.