Where do you start when you talk about Charli Collier?

There is the laundry list of career accomplishments – McDonald’s All-American, Naismith All-American First Team, WBCA High School All-American, 2018 Morgan Wooten Player of the Year Finalist, Jordan Brand Classic selection and Naismith National Girls High School Player of the Year Finalist.

Then there is the off-the-court impact Collier has had in the Barbers Hill community since arriving there as a freshman. The role model she serves as to young women in the community and really the Houston area.

Collier did it all in her four years at Barbers Hill High School.

“The impact I’ve had on my school and my community, people look up to me as a role model like I’m something important,” Collier said. “I’m just grateful to be a person someone can come to. It’s more than basketball. I feel like I’m out here making history.”

On the court, Collier was someone teams had to always be ready for and try to slow down.

In her four years, Collier amassed 3,539 points (1,265 scored this past season), finished with 1,408 rebounds, 216 assists, 339 blocks and was a 57.7-percent shooter from inside the arc and 32.9-percent shootout outside of it.

“I think about when I first came here my freshman year and I look how I did my senior year,” Collier said. “I was a completely different player. My body type was different, my style of play was different, my shots I took were different. Everything about me from freshman year to this year was different. I would just describe my game as improved.”

When Collier walked onto campus in 2014, the goal was to of course win a state championship.

Collier’s team never did that, but the list of team accomplishments are what she is most proud of.

Barbers Hill won 126 games with Collier on the roster; the Lady Eagles captured three District 21-5A Championships going a combined 63-3 in district play.

Once in the playoffs, Barbers Hill didn’t disappoint.

In the past four years, the Lady Eagles exit the playoffs earlier than the regional quarterfinals. In 2017, Barbers Hill advanced all the way to the state semifinals.

“I can say that over the years there were other good things that had happened not just for me but for our team,” Collier said. “We accomplished so many wins, district titles, made it to regionals and never got stopped early. I look back and I don’t have any regrets about anything that happened throughout my years.”

With her high school career officially in the books, outside of a few all-star games and All- American games she will play in, Collier can now look towards Austin.

Collier will be joining the Texas Longhorns next season and is ready to continue her athletic and academic career on the 40 acres.

Heading to Austin for her freshman campaign, Collier said is like her freshman year at Barbers Hill. The senior continued
saying when she arrives at Texas no one cares what you did in high school, what you were ranked or how many awards you received. It’s a fresh start.

Past Texas there are the goals of making Team USA and potentially getting drafted into the WNBA for Collier, but she knows if she doesn’t put in the work now none of that will ever come.

“My biggest goal right now is getting college-ready,” Collier said. “Everything else will follow. If I do that, if I get college-ready, then I will do everything else. National Championships will come, Team USA, WNBA all of that is in the long run. I know I want to do that but right now I’m just focused on getting college-ready.”

With her time at Barbers Hill done and as she took time to look back, there was one final question to answer.

What do you hope people will remember the most about Charli Collier?

“A lot of people say how humble, kind and genuine I am,” Collier said. “I just hope people remember me as someone who was always hardworking no matter what I did. In the classroom or the basketball court. Someone
who was there for other people when they needed help; a motivator, a role model. I just see someone who made a huge impact on Barbers Hill.

“I hope the community knows that when I put on a Barbers Hill jersey I was playing for them. I’m playing for my family, my team and my coaches. I just hope people remember me as someone who was always hardworking no matter what I did when I stepped onto a Barbers Hill court.”

This article appears in the March Issue of VYPE Magazine. Pick up your copy at any one of our locations next week!