It didn’t take Holly Hardin long to decide whether or not to play basketball last season.
Hardin, a senior from Chickasha, Okla., played her junior year at Oklahoma City University without her anterior cruciate ligament. Many doctors thought playing basketball like that would be impossible to do.
Hardin is this week’s Super Star of the Week after averaging 15.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.67 steals in leading the Stars to victory against Southern Nazarene, Northwestern Oklahoma State and 19th-ranked Oklahoma Christian. Hardin was also named Sooner Athletic Conference player of the week for her efforts.
“The doctors were telling me that I was unique because most girls can’t play without an ACL,” Hardin said. “If I didn’t have surgery, they told me I would probably blow out my knee in the next five to eight years. I told the doctor that I could wait until after the season to have surgery, and he was like good luck with that because most people can’t play without an ACL. I was like well I am not like most people.”
Hardin exceeded expectations in her first year with OCU. She averaged 12.8 points and 9.3 rebounds, earning second-team NAIA all-American honors and helping the Stars reach the semifinals of the national tournament.
“Last season actually went better than they thought,” Hardin said. “A lot of people thought that I would have a lot of tweaks and pains throughout the season and I really didn’t, except for the one time we were playing Lubbock (Christian). After that I was fine.”
This season, Hardin has made it a priority to be a leader on and off the court at OCU. Hardin and the other members of the OCU women’s basketball team have spent time with the local youth at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club in Oklahoma City.
“I just try to set an example out there for all the little girls who want to become collegiate players,” Hardin said. “You have to do your academics and you have to study because school does come before activities. I have had so much fun with the kids there. It’s funny because I guess they look at us like we aren’t human or people. It was a fun atmosphere to be around.”
Hardin is a pursuing a kinesiology degree at OCU. She plans on coaching after she graduates.
“I see myself wanting to be around basketball all the time,” Hardin said. “I want to coach and in order to do that you have to have a kinesiology degree. It gives you a better background so when you do become a coach and someone gets hurt, you can know what is going on with them, and not just have to send them to a doctor.”
To see this week's OCU Athletics Update with an interview with Hardin, click here.
More on Holly:
Being an OCU Star means: That now I’m a true role model for little girls, and that I always do my best to represent OCU
Dream car: Brand new Pontiac G8
My obsession is: Basketball
The thing that keeps me up at night: Homework
What I did last summer: Rehabbed for my knee because of ACL surgery
