Anonymous Former MSU Player Tells Izzo He Regrets Transferring
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One former Michigan State player wishes he had never left.
On Tuesday morning, Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press tweeted that MSU's Tom Izzo had told longtime local sportscaster Tim Staudt that he had been texting with a former player for the past three weeks who had left the Spartans in the transfer portal. Those text exchanges were about how said player regretted his decision to leave.
As for who the player is, Izzo wouldn't drop the name, but Solari says it's "pretty obvious who he is referring to."
Chances are that this is about Tre Holloman, who surprised everyone when he entered the transfer portal last offseason and went to N.C. State instead for his final season of college basketball. Holloman averaged basically the same number of points per game, received fewer shots, and didn't really play much more than he had been playing at Michigan State.
Other players have transferred out, so assumptions only go so far. In the last few seasons, Xavier Booker went to UCLA, Gehrig Normand to Santa Clara, A.J. Hoggard to Vanderbilt, Mady Sissoko to Cal, Pierre Brooks to Butler, and Julius Marble to Texas A&M.
Holloman still was, by a bit, the most surprising. Plenty of those other recent decisions felt more mutual. Holloman's was stunning because he was pretty set to be a starter on this year's team, but he turned that opportunity down to play at a less prestigious program with first-year head coach Will Wade. N.C. State barely squeaked into the NCAA Tournament this year, losing in the First Four to Texas (Wade has since bolted from NCSU for LSU).
More on Holloman's Decision
Holloman leaving Michigan State shows why it's never great to assume a player will come back. He was pretty distraught when MSU lost in the Elite Eight last season, and the incident at the end of the home game against Michigan, where he shoved two Wolverines off the Spartan logo during Michigan State's Senior Night tradition, only strengthened the connection between Holloman and the fanbase.
Hitting a game-winning shot from beyond half-court against Maryland to help propel MSU to a Big Ten championship also helped. If Holloman had stayed with the Spartans, he would have gone down as a beloved four-year player with a nice legacy in East Lansing. Instead, he gave it up for perhaps a slightly bigger payday at a place that won't remember him the way Michigan State does.
A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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