University of Evansville graduate Chris Hollender returned to his alma mater in 2009 after serving the previous seven years under former UE coach Jim Crews at Army.
An all-Missouri Valley Conference selection in 1998, Hollender scored 1,029 points at Evansville in just three seasons. Head Coach Marty Simmons was an assistant coach at UE during two of those three years.
“Chris has such passion for our university and our community, and great knowledge of the game,” Simmons says. “That’s why he is such a great fit for this place, and for me. As a former player here, Chris can relate really well to our current players and to the players he recruits. Plus, he worked under Coach Crews and there’s no one better to learn from than him.”
Hollender spent his freshman year of college at Lake Land (Ill.) College in his hometown of Mattoon, Ill. before embarking on his three-year career at UE. In addition to earning all-MVC honors and leading the league in field goal percentage (.548) as a senior, Hollender was captain of the MVC Most Improved Team in 1998 after his scoring average rose from 11.8 as a junior to 16.5 as a senior. He scored a career-high 34 points against Indiana and posted seven double-doubles that season. Hollender was a team captain in 1997-98 along with Curt Begle and Marcus Wilson. In 84 career games, which included 70 starting assignments, Hollender averaged 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds. He ranks 42nd in career scoring for the Aces.
After graduating with a degree in marketing, Hollender spent one season with Bremerhaven in Germany before joining the St. Louis Swarm of the International Basketball League. The Swarm won the IBL Championship in each of Hollender’s two seasons with the club (1999-2000, 2000-01). He then signed on with the Rockford Lightning of the Continental Basketball Association, where he played 14 games during the 2001-02 season before starting his coaching career at West Point.
