Hakeem Rollins averaged 10 points and five rebounds per game as a high school senior, helping Mesa High School to a 17-13 record in 2001. Fortunately for MCC, he turned down an academic scholarship to the University of Arizona so he could play Thunderbird basketball. Hakeem was an outstanding power forward for the 2002 and 2003 basketball seasons. He was First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Region. Hakeem led the ACCAC with a 24.8 points per game scoring average and was sixth in rebounding with 8.9 per game. He was also fourth in field goal percentage at .573. Hakeem received an honorable mention All-American, and came in second in conference voting for Player of the Year. He was number one in the conference in blocked shots, led the team in scoring and was second in rebounding. With those stats, Hakeem was named one of the National Junior College Athletic Association’s top three power forwards.

From MCC he was recruited by numerous top universities before accepting a full athletic scholarship to the University of Washington and the opportunity to pursue a biochemistry major.

University of Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar said Hakeem was a major factor in the Huskies winning their first game in the 2005 National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament.

His junior year as a Huskie, Hakeem played all 31 games, helping the team to a 19-12 record and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in four years and a second-place conference finish, Washington's best in nearly two decades. He led the team and ranked seventh among Pac-12 players with 38 blocked shots.

While achieving on the court, he earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry but continued basketball by playing 10 seasons of international professional hoops in Argentina, Switzerland, Venezuela, and Brazil.

Hakeem returned to academics at the University of Oregon and earned a Master of Business Administration and specializes in sports marketing.

For a link to the full video of the ceremony, please visit MCC Hall of Fame 2021.