With another year still to play at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Holman had created a buzz as a junior college athletic big man. Cincinnati, which had spent most of the 1999-2000 season ranked No. 1 in the country, was interested. So was Iowa State, a team coming off the first of two consecutive Big 12 titles. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were interested as well.

So what did Holman, a St. Paul native, do? He committed to play for the Gophers, a move that caused other coaches to say, ``He did what?''

There was no darker period for the Gophers program than the spring of 2000. Minnesota had just completed a 12-16 season and finished 10th in the Big Ten. The school had self-imposed scholarship reductions and recruiting restrictions as a result of the academic fraud scandal under former coach Clem Haskins. There was uncertainty as to what additional penalties the NCAA would give the program.

Gophers coach Dan Monson still remembers getting a voice mail message from MCTC coach Jay Pivec on a day when Monson was going to Duluth to watch Rick Rickert, then a high school junior, play.

``He said, `Coach, I think you've had enough bad news for a day, a week, a year. I have some good news for you, call me back,' '' Monson recalled. ``I called him back and he said Jerry wanted to commit and that he didn't care about any of that stuff. He wanted to stay home and be around his family, and he wanted to play for Minnesota.''

This afternoon, Holman, along with fellow senior Kevin Burleson, will play Wisconsin in their final regular-season game at Williams Arena. It's a game that will significantly impact whether the Gophers make the NCAA tournament. While Holman maybe hasn't been as dominant of a player as he would have hoped and his senior season has been erratic, he has played a significant role in the Gophers' rebuilding process.

``It was a huge statement for our program,'' Monson said. ``It was a time when everybody was taking shots at us recruiting-wise because nobody knew our future was with the NCAA.''

Holman's commitment became something Monson and his staff could sell to high school players. Would Rickert be in Arizona if not for Holman? Would Moe Hargrow be playing for one of the Big East schools that pursued him?

``I think his commitment to our program said `It's OK' and it paved the way for the others,'' Monson said. ``Somebody had to do it first.''

Holman simply wanted to stay in the Twin Cities and play in front of his mother, Linda Livingston.

``I wanted to help pick up the program and there's no place like home,'' said Holman, who is averaging 9.2 points per game in his Gophers career, including 9.7 points and 5.5 rebounds this year. ``There's nothing like having your family here to have your back.''

Holman still has dreams of the NBA, and Monson doesn't think that's far-fetched.

``I think his best basketball is ahead of him,'' Monson said. ``He's definitely got interest from the NBA, but it's going to be how much he improves. . . . I know his future involves making money playing basketball.''

Just as important to Holman is that he will have less than a full semester of classes to take to finish his degree in commercial recreation. Holman said he didn't think that was possible when he graduated from high school.

``I want to graduate, I want to make my family proud,'' he said. ``I want my mom to be proud of what her son accomplished.''

That is something Monson is pleased about. ``School came harder for him than almost anybody,'' he said. ``He's worked very hard and it hasn't come easy. It's been a credit to him more than anybody, but it's also a credit to the academic people here, my staff and the people at Minneapolis Community College because what he started with there is a long ways from where he is now. Jay Pivec and his staff did an unbelievable job getting him ready to have success here.''

- Jeff Shelman is at jshelman@startribune.com.

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