It’s always good to come home to play in front of family and friends. Any pre-game nervousness aside, the local former prep player hopes to do well and secure a win for their team.
Tre Holloman, born in Minneapolis, made his third collegiate visit to the Barn on Dec. 4 as his Michigan State Spartans played host Minnesota in a Big Ten matchup for both squads.
A couple of months ago, while waiting for his turn at the podium during media days in suburban Chicago, we chatted about life in East Lansing.
“It’s been going well,” the junior Holloman said. “Everybody knows me now. Everybody expects me to do well.
“I’ve just been feeling more at home at Michigan State,” he noted.
A prep all-stater and Metro Player of the Year in his high school senior year, Holloman was one of six players with the Spartans who appeared in all 34 games as a freshman and repeated the feat last season, his sophomore, as he played in all 35 games.
Holloman said his off-season was successful. “Just been working out, grinding, getting better,” he said.
State Coach Tom Izzo said of the 6-2 guard, “There’s some prudent growth from (his) sophomore year: his confidence, his leadership, his shooting. He’s really shooting the ball. He might be one of my best shooters.
“Tre has made great strides,” added the veteran HC. “That’s the hard thing (playing) two positions, but he seems to adjust into it pretty well.”
Izzo also said he admired Holloman for his determination to improve: “I think what I love about Tre is in this day and age where everybody doesn’t have great success right away, they just bolt. There is a process to this, and I really appreciate [that]. What I’ve been really most impressed with him is he’s starting to lead more. He’s starting to be one of the guys that you can really rely on.”
Playing for Izzo, who’s renowned as a taskmaster, hasn’t been a problem, said Holloman. “It is a challenge, but it’s great.” He also agrees with his coach that his overall game is improving.
“I feel like I’m better with the ball, reading the defense better, being better as a leader,” said the 2023-24 All-Big Ten Academic selection and advertising management major.
Finally, if he can find a fault with his player from Minneapolis, Izzo said he’d like Holloman to add some weight to his 185-pound frame.
Furthermore …
Norfolk State senior forward Kierra Wheeler, a Minneapolis native, was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Week last week. The 6-1 player averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 2.5 blocks in two wins for the Spartans.
Against UNCW, Wheeler tallied 16 points and three blocks; against Radford, she contributed 17 points, two blocks, and two steals. This is her second consecutive league honor in as many tries.