By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com
Had Petr Holešínská's original plans for his daughter's sports career ultimately played out, Fighting Illini fans might never have known the young woman who currently holds the unofficial title as Illinois basketball's leading scorer.
Yes, instead of 94-foot courts of hard maple wood, there was a time when Petra Holešínská's earliest childhood athletic escapades were displayed on courts of clay, grass and other surfaces.
"I began in tennis because my dad played tennis," said the personable redshirt junior from Vracov in the Czech Republic. "One day, a teacher at our school was encouraging us kids to play basketball, so I asked my dad if I could play. And he said, 'Yeah, that's not happening; you're playing tennis!'"
Still, Holešínská was fascinated by the game that featured the bouncy orange ball.
"I really loved it, she said. "Eventually, my dad got over it, I guess. I played tennis for a little bit longer, but I honestly hated it. I guess it was mostly the fact that tennis was me by myself. I enjoy team sports and being around people."
During her high school years at Sportovni Gzmnazium Ludvika Danka, Holešínská's exceptional skills as a shooter caught the eye of scouts from the Czech Republic National Basketball Team. She would go on to help her squad win three National Championships and place second at the European Champion's Cup. Individually, Holešínská was named Most Valuable Player of the 2014 U-17 World Championship club and later earned all-tournament team honors at the 2016 European U-20 competition.
It was in 2014 when former Illini coach Matt Bollant noticed the 5-9, sharp-shooting dynamo. About a year later, Holešínská and her father made their first trip to the United States for a recruiting visit to the University of Illinois campus.
"I was definitely impressed by the facilities and the way people care about sports and academics," she said. "At home, it's really hard to play basketball and study at the same time, but Illinois gave me the opportunity to do that."
Holešínská's transition to American basketball was difficult at times.
"Because I was playing for my national team, I wasn't able to come to campus for my first season until just a couple of weeks before school started," she said. "I came from a high school where I was the star, but when I got here everyone was good. I especially struggled defensively, so I just had to work on my game every day to get better."
When an Illini starter was sidelined by an injury early in the 2016-17 season, Bollant inserted his talented freshman into the starting lineup. Holešínská finished her rookie campaign averaging a respectable 10.5 points per game.
However, when Nancy Fahey became Illinois's coach in March of 2017, Holešínská was forced to prove herself to the new staff. Adding even more complexity to the transition was an ankle fracture in June that put her in a cast for the entire summer.
"Coach changed everything," she continued. "Her main thing was to change the culture of the team. Everything was different. The defensive principles, the offense, everything. I didn't shoot the ball as well as I wanted to, so it made sense that I didn't play as much that second season."
Holešínská's statistics dipped dramatically, averaging just 6.7 points per game in 22 minutes of play.
Things got even worse for her a week before the start of the 2018-19 campaign when she suffered a major knee injury. But being on the sideline wasn't going to stop Holešínská from contributing.
"I wanted to help my team win," she said, "so I did everything I could, from talking to my teammates to helping the coaches. I worked on my shot a lot and I got better mentally. School is important to me, so I definitely wanted to work on that, too."
Does she consider her injury to be a blessing in disguise?
"Definitely," Holešínská said. "If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be playing as well as I am right now. I learned how to be patient and work harder, so that injury definitely helped me in my career."
She received extra encouragement and rebounding assistance from a person she calls her "best friend." Illini fans know her buddy for his success as a running back on Illinois's football team, Reggie Corbin.
"When I got hurt, Reggie knew that I was struggling mentally," Holešínská said. "He said, 'Alright, we're going to the gym.' He was just pushing me to get better and to work on my shot. He definitely played a huge role in me coming back, so I'm super grateful for that. Reggie is a very caring individual to the people around him. I'm just super grateful to have him in my life. I've told him many times that, without him, I would not be where I am today."
And now we fast forward to this season where No. 13 is what Czechs would say "horící"—"on fire"—leading the team with her 14.1 points per game average through the first 14 contests.
In the season opener against Chicago State, Holešínská exploded for a career-high 29 points.
"I was really excited to be back on the court with my teammates," she said.
In two recent games, Holešínská has scored 25 and 22 points, respectively, in back-to-back victories over Evansville and at Missouri. She was 17-for-30 from the field, including a spectacular 11-for-20 from three-point land.
Holešínská is particularly excited for the Big Ten portion of Illinois's season to begin.
"We have a good combination of experienced players plus some talented new people," she said. "I think that we can do really well in conference play."
As for her teammates, Holešínská has a special place in her heart for them.
"I look at them as my sisters and I'm grateful for every single one of them," she said. "I love them all and feel so blessed to be on this team."
