Amira "Mimi" Collins has so much family in Slidell, Louisiana, that there's a street named after them called Lawrence Road.
Collins, a 6-foot-3 sophomore post player at Paul VI (Fairfax, Virginia) and her immediate family, though, hit the road in 2005, when Collins was 5 -- one day before the area was hit by Hurricane Katrina.
This past summer, Collins, the No. 20 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Terrific 25 for the 2018 class, played her first games in New Orleans, representing her AAU club, Team Takeover, in the Battle on the Bayou.
Being back in New Orleans, just across the bridge from Slidell, brought back memories for Collins and especially her mother, Bonita, whose maiden name is Lawrence.
"I remember going to the Mardi Gras parade [as a child], having a good time and eating a lot of seafood," Amira Collins said. "People would throw beads. ... [Slidell] was a great place to grow up. I was in great hands, surrounded by family."
Bonita still has "hundreds" of family members living in Slidell and New Orleans, and about 30 of them came out to see Collins play at the Battle on the Bayou. Suffice it to say they were impressed.
"This was the first time many of my family members could watch Mimi play," Bonita said.
As for Katrina, Bonita said: "I remember that the bridge that crosses you over from New Orleans to Slidell was split in half -- that's how bad it was. We were fortunate -- our house was salvageable. We stuck a 'For Sale by Owner' sign on the front lawn, and we sold it quick."
Starting over
Amira's father, Derwin "Tank" Collins -- he got his nickname as a child when he ran through a sliding glass door and emerged without a scratch -- works for the Department of Defense and was offered the choice to relocate to Arizona or the Washington D.C. area.
The family opted for White Plains, Maryland, and Amira started her athletic career as a soccer player.
Everything was going well until Collins, because of her height, was asked to play goalie at age 9.
On one of the first hard shots she faced, Collins went to make the play, but her hands didn't get there in time, and the ball hit her flush in the face. She immediately took off her gloves and dashed for the sidelines, where her parents embraced her.
"It was pretty painful," Collins said. "Playing goalie was a no-go for me."
Soon after that, Collins asked her father to teach her basketball, a request that delighted him.
See, "Tank" was more than just a tough kid growing up. He was also a 6-5 forward at the University of New Orleans and played eight years as a pro overseas.
When Amira asked him for lessons, he jumped.
"I ran out that very day and bought a basketball goal," he said. "It took me four hours to put it together in the driveway."
Tank soon discovered something interesting about his daughter: She is left-handed for everything except basketball.
When she started shooting in the driveway, she was putting up two-handed heaves. When Tank instructed her to shoot with one hand, it turned out that she was more comfortable with her right.
Immediate standout
Paul VI coach Scott Allen met Collins when she was about 12, and he was impressed.
"She was a 6-3 seventh-grader with pretty good basketball skills, and that's a rarity at that age," he said. "She could shoot. She could handle the ball. And she had a great attitude."
The only problem? Collins didn't go to Allen's high school ... at least not right away.
Collins went to St. John's in Washington D.C., before the family decided that the hour-plus commute was too long. The drive to Paul VI takes about 45 minutes, said Collins, who added that it has been an easy transition because she already knew several people at her new school. Besides Allen, that list includes two of her AAU teammates, Raven James, a 5-5 senior guard who has signed with Villanova, and Jasmine Whitney, a 5-9 senior guard who has signed with Pittsburgh.
James, whose father, Ron, coaches Team Takeover, has served as a mentor for Collins. She believes Collins tends to be too hard on herself at times.
"I think that's part of her personality -- she doesn't give herself enough credit," Raven James said. "But I'm always there to pump her up."
Allen, for his part, said Collins is so nice that it sometimes holds her back.
Mind you, Collins is averaging 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks on a team that is 17-1 and ranked No. 5 in the espnW 25 Power Rankings. She had seven points and 13 rebounds in a game against her old school last week.
But the standards are high at Paul VI, where the Panthers won a state title last season, finishing 32-2 and No. 8 in the final HoopGurlz national rankings. They also won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, a league Allen considers the ACC of high school ball.
"She has handled it well," Allen said of the pressure of playing at Paul VI. "She has done a really good job of earning the respect of her teammates. Her biggest adjustment is learning that if she [scores], she's not going to hurt her teammates' feelings."
Collins, who has a 3.0 GPA and aspires to be an orthopedic surgeon, agrees with her coach.
"He's right; I'm a people-pleaser," she said. "I will get a wide-open layup, and I will give it to somebody else to give them a chance to score.
"Basketball is not one against five. It's five against five. If we move the ball, we can get a better shot and actually a great shot."
Collins, who grew up an LSU fan and has a brother, Milan, who is a 6-1, 200-pound sophomore defensive back at the University of Maryland, said her recruitment is still wide open.
She said her dad is handling most of the details while her mom is preaching academics and is focused on which school will provide her with the best support and networking opportunities so she can find a good job after basketball.
Ron James has no doubt that whichever school lands Collins will get a gem.
"She runs the floor like no other," he said. "She runs with the guards and wings. She has the versatility to play inside and out, based on matchups. And she has that motor that allows her to work to constantly try to get better."