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Senior center Ryan Hollins pats his chest toward the UCLA cheering section after being named Oakl

OAKLAND — It’s hard to believe that this Ryan Hollins is the same person who played just four minutes in a victory over Michigan in December.

Or that it’s the same person who scored zero points in 22 minutes in a loss to USC in February.

It’s so hard to believe because that Hollins was tentative and unsure, while this one is confident, self-assured, and now, the Oakland Regional's Most Outstanding Player on a team headed to Indianapolis and the Final Four.

The Bruin senior had 14 points and nine rebounds Saturday in UCLA’s 50-45 victory over Memphis, a game that had to be the high point of a career riddled with doubts, questions and declarations of wasted potential.

And looking back on his four years in the program, Hollins has learned one lesson that stands above the rest.

“Never give up,” he said. “If my teammates don’t believe in me, if the media doesn’t believe in me, if the coaches don’t believe in me, I’m going to make them believe. Hopefully tonight shows that.”

There have been a number of times when Hollins has had few believers. Blessed with a 7-foot frame and tremendous jumping ability, he has often been viewed as a general disappointment.

Fellow senior Michael Fey started over Hollins last season, and a groin injury sustained in warm-ups against Cal State Sacramento on Dec. 23 kept Hollins out of the lineup for six straight games this year.

He re-entered the starting lineup on Jan. 26, only to have the spot snatched away for a game after his awful performance in the Bruins’ loss to USC.

“He took a lot,” said senior forward Cedric Bozeman, who has witnessed firsthand Hollins’ four-year development as a player. “People get on big guys tremendously, being 7-foot. People say if you’re 7-foot you should be able to do this and that, and Ryan’s heard it all. It shows what kind of character he has.”

In this year’s postseason, Hollins has been nothing short of spectacular.

In seven postseason games, Hollins has scored 84 points on 30-for-38 shooting. That, for those of you calculating at home, is a staggering 78.9 percent.

And for the Bruins, it’s his inside presence that makes the team a legitimate national-title contender.

“He’s come a long way,” freshman point guard Darren Collison said. “It’s unbelievable. At the beginning of the year everybody was talking about (how) UCLA doesn’t have an inside presence; and now he’s fulfilled that presence. If he keeps playing like this, I don’t think any team can stop us.

“He’s real hungry right now, and we’ve just got to keep feeding him.”

Hollins established himself from the outset Thursday, scoring nine of the Bruins’ first 14 points. He shredded Memphis center Joey Dorsey, who was out of the game by the 16:24 mark in the first half with two fouls.

Hollins was also key on the defensive end, rising up to intercept an Antonio Anderson pass with just under a minute remaining and his team clinging to a five-point lead to essentially seal the victory for the underdog Bruins.

“Ryan Hollins played terrific today,” Howland said. “He’s playing the best basketball of his career right now.”

The only thing Hollins didn’t do well Saturday was shoot free throws, as his abominable 2-for-11 from the line nearly cost UCLA the game.

He made the second of his first two free-throw attempts, then missed seven straight before finally connecting on his only other make of the game with 8:44 left.

“I just knew we had to win that game or I would never forgive myself,” Hollins said, adding that he will work a lot on free throws this week whether or not Howland tells him to.

One can be certain that he will also reflect on how far he has come.

Recruited by former UCLA coach Steve Lavin, Hollins has had to endure the wrath of Howland ever since the former Pittsburgh coach began his tenure in Westwood three years ago.

Oftentimes that has meant verbal tirades in practice and limited playing time in games.

Bozeman said he had a talk with Hollins in the airport following his terribly disappointing performance against Michigan way back in December.

“I told him to stick in there,” Bozeman said. “You’ve got some big games ahead of you.”

“Coach is not dumb,” Hollins said. “He’s going to play the guys that he feels are the most successful to win. Obviously I wasn’t (playing) that key of a role.

“In taking that, it wasn’t me angry at coach. It was, ‘What can I prove to him to get on the floor?’”

And Hollins has never relented.

He’s continued to work hard to prove himself, and though there have been low points, it’s all worked out in the end.

Going into next week’s Final Four, Hollins is more confident in himself, and his teammates, in turn, are also more confident in him.

“I can’t score without them,” Hollins said. “I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it weren’’t for my teammates.”

“Man, there were times when coach didn’t know what to do with him,” Bozeman said. "But he stuck to it, and now he’s at this point where he’s getting it done."

You better believe it.