On Tuesday, ironically on April Fools Day, Michigan State basketball's co-captain Tre Holloman shocked Spartan fans when it was announced, and then confirmed, that he would be foregoing his senior season at MSU to enter the transfer portal.
Like many, I was left trying to make sense of the decision. Why would Holloman, fresh off a deep run in the NCAA Tournament and poised for a big role as a senior, decide to leave the Spartans to find a new home?
Was it greed? No one could really blame him if it was. While we know that while MSU does pay their players a healthy NIL salary, there is an understanding that Michigan State isn't handing out the level of deals we have seen this offseason, where starting-caliber players are rumored to be getting offers of over $2 million to leave their current schools.
Was it because he hated Michigan State? That doesn't seem likely at all. By all accounts, Tre Holloman was a great teammate and leader, and we all saw that on display when he defended the logo tradition in the win over rival Michigan on senior night.
With the benefit of hindsight and some amateur gumshoe work on social media, I think I have found at least a big part of the equation that seems to be missing for some Spartan fans who have started to direct a lot of their anger and confusion at Tre Holloman and his family this week.
Tre Holloman's mother, Crystal Flint, is an accomplished basketball player and coach in her own right. She is also very active on social media, supporting her son and the Michigan State program, despite being an assistant coach for the women's team at Minnesota. At the top of her profile on X.com, she has a post pinned from all the way back in 2023 where she uses the hashtag '#TRUEpointguard' to describe her son:
The 馃寧 will see what I have known for years.
Let鈥檚 go #5 , your time to shine. #TreHolloman#MrJigg@jiggyTrawww#TRUEpointguard
Not just his mom, I coached him first.Save Story Topics in this Story
