For most of his life, Terrell “Tu-Tu” Holloway has been fighting an uphill battle against a slew of doubts and low expectations. From the assumption that a Long Island boy could not make it big, to the skepticism that a sixfoot nothing point guard could make it in the big time, senior
point guard Tu Holloway has been working to prove everyone wrong. At 190 pounds, Holloway is the second smallest member of Xavier men’s basketball team, ranked only 65th for his position as a recruit. Holloway is also
the Musketeer’s highest scorer, averaging 20.2 points per game. Holloway also averages 38.4 minutes, 5.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and shoots 87 percent from the free
throw line. Holloway is currently ranked as the fourth best player in the nation according to CBSSports.com, yet he is still not considered to be a first-round draft contender by a
large portion of analysts. Joel Steiner from NBADraft.
net believes that Holloway will be unable to hold his own against other players of his position and that his athleticism will prohibit him from being more than a niche-player. For this Xavier Musketeer, these doubts only fuel him
to succeed. “I’ve always had doubters, but that’s what keeps me going. If people would have handed me everything young, I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” Holloway said. While many NBA analysts feel that Holloway does not possess the athleticism to make it in the big leagues due to his lack of size and speed, Holloway feels that those factors make him the toughest player on the court.”My toughness sets me aside from everyone else. I feel like I’ve got a lot of determination,” Holloway said. Holloway entered the NBA draft at the close of his junior season and chose to remove himself in favor of spending his senior season at Xavier. He was told throughout
the process that he would be a secondround pick, which
was far from where he wanted to be. “I’m the best point
guard in America and my heart is bigger than everybody’s,”
Holloway said. For Holloway, playing in the NBA has been a dream of his since he was a 14-year-old at St. Benedicts, competing with players who would go on to the NBA and
become All-Americans. “Even as a kid, I had doubters,” Holloway said. “Every year from Long Island, we had maybe
one good player. I was the one guy.” Years later, Holloway still is that “one guy.” He is that one guy that led the nation in triple-doubles last season, that one guy that was 2010-11 Atlantic-10 Player of the Year and that one guy that feels he can lead Xavier to their best season yet.
“Being in high school, they ranked me the 100th best pospect in America. I remember thinking that there was no way 99 guys were better than me,” Holloway said. For Holloway, his senior season is his time to let every one of his doubters know that he is worthy of a first-round pick. Holloway believes that he is the best player in the country, and that if he and the Musketeers play as well as possible,
all his doubters will realize his true potential. Humbly six-feet tall, Holloway is the “big man” to watch.