Cretin-Derham’s Tre Holloman chose to focus on basketball rather than football at Michigan State
ST. PAUL, Minn. (BVM) – Last August, Tre Holloman announced via Twitter that he was committing to Michigan State University and would be playing for Tom Izzo next year.
1000% COMMITTED💚🤍 SPARTAN DAWG #GoGreen #Sparty pic.twitter.com/McK1GqwBKR
— Trejuan Holloman (@jiggyTrawww) August 7, 2021
Holloman had planned on making his decision on where he would attend college halfway through his senior year. However, even before he began his final year at Cretin-Derham Hall High School, the 6-foot-2 point guard knew what his choice was.
“I guess it changed because I didn’t want to wait any more because I felt like I knew where I wanted to go,” Holloman said.
Then on Nov. 10, he made it official by signing his national letter of intent.
“It felt great,” Holloman said. “It was a dream come true.”
It also ended the recruitment of the No. 1 recruit in the state of Minnesota for the Class of 2022, but if you asked Holloman, he would tell you that Michigan State had been at the top of his list for a long time.
“Michigan State was at the top of the list 100% of the time,” Holloman said. “They’re a legendary coaching staff… Coach Izzo is a great coach and a great guy.”
The only real question was if he would be playing football, basketball or both for the Spartans. Michigan State’s head football coach Mel Tucker had also been recruiting Holloman to play safety for the Spartans.
“It was really, really close because I was going to play both actually,” Holloman said. “I was thinking about playing both but then I guess basketball just took over my heart… It was a close call for sure.”
Holloman consulted a lot of people while he tried to make his decision. His teachers, coaches and family all helped him throughout the process. Holloman even reached out to Minnesota native and current guard for the Orlando Magic Jalen Suggs for advice. Suggs had been in a similar situation when he was in high school with both basketball and football offers from colleges.
In the end, basketball won out and basketball has always had a special place in Holloman’s heart. Growing up he had played other sports outside of football and basketball, but as he got older, Holloman began to focus on those two in particular.
“Once middle school came around, football and basketball got the best of me… It just took over,” Holloman said.
For Holloman, basketball was also a family affair. His mother, Crystal Flint, played basketball at the University of Minnesota and before that, she had a successful high school career in Boston. Holloman’s older brother, Marquis, won back-to-back state championships with Minneapolis North and played basketball in college.
“They play a big part in why I still play basketball and why I’m going to Michigan State,” Tre said.
Along with his family, his trainer, who Tre has worked with since he was in fourth grade, also plays a big role in his appreciation for the game and is like a brother to Tre.
With his family’s help, Holloman has developed into one of the best point guards in the nation and that journey began back in middle school.
“I think it was sixth or seventh grade (AAU) nationals,” Tre said. “I played really well and it was against some of the best in the nation.”
Following his performance at nationals, he began to make a name for himself at Chris Paul’s CP3 camp.
Tre started on varsity as an eighth grader at Minneapolis North and then transferred to Cretin-Derham as a freshman where he helped the Raiders to a state runner-up finish last year as a junior.
That Raider team last year was mostly seniors and with them graduated, Tre has stepped up to help acclimate the new varsity players to what Cretin-Derham is trying to do.
“I feel good about our team,” Tre said. “We are still learning how to play with each other but that is going to take some time. We are starting to find ourselves.”
While he works to bring this year’s Cretin-Derham team up to speed, Tre will also continue to be a role model for the many kids who come up to him to talk, take a picture or ask to train with him.
“That just makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing,” Tre said.
And with Michigan State right around the corner, Tre Holloman will continue to do the right thing whether he’s a Raider or a Spartan.
