JUCO NEWS: Trinity Valley Updates

A pair of Trinity Valley players have made college decisions, according to Cardinals' Head Coach Leon Spencer.

Jerome Holman, a 5-10, 180 pound point guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., has committed to Wichita State. Another TVCC soph, 6-9, 240 pound power forward/center Khadim Khandji, has signed with UL-Lafayette.

"I did not see him sign, but he came in here and told me that he was going to sign and then that he was going to go to Butler," Spencer said. "I think one of the reasons that Jerome picked Wichita State was that they were willing to help him get through school and go D-I."

Holman has not finished work towards his associates degree, and the Butler that Spencer refers to is Butler County C.C. in El Dorado, Kan., which is located near Wichita State.

"I am not sure exactly, he may do a summer and fall at Butler and then start playing there mid-term," Spencer said. "I've had that happen before with Brian Lewin, who went to West Virginia. He played here and then went to a Mississippi junior college, and moved in and started playing immediately with West Virginia three or four years ago."

Holman is a tremendous talent who can run a team and also score, although his decision-making is not always crisp and his self control on the court fluctuates.

This past season, he averaged 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game for a 22-10 squad that reached the Region 14 semis. Holman shot 46 percent from the field, 31 percent on three pointers and 72 percent from the foul line.

Khandji, who was a reserve for the Cardinals this past season, averaged 2.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He is originally from the Senegal in Africa.

Two other TVCC sophs -- 7-0 center Moustapha Diagne and 6-3 off guard Marcus Johnson -- signed earlier this spring. Diagne, who like Khandji hails from the Senegal, signed with New Mexico. Johnson will attend Southwest Texas State this fall.

The lone unsigned sophomore who has the ability to play on the Division I level is 6-6, 210 pound power forward Miguel Caballero.

"He is still out there and I am not sure what he is going to do," Spencer said. "He can graduate in summer school, but there is some work to be done there."

Some Division I programs have been contacting Caballero recently, including High Point College of North Carolina and Old Dominion.

An undersized power forward originally from the Bronx, N.Y., Caballero is a garbage man deluxe who does most of his offensive damage near the cylinder. He averaged 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a soph, shooting 55 percent from the field.

Caballero's biggest achilles heel is his free throw shooting. He hit just 54 of 117 freebies this past season, which works out to a poor 46 percent from the charity stripe. Still, Caballero is a high energy player who can help a D-I school do the dirty work, assuming he finishes up his business in the classroom.

Caballero, a product of Catholic League stalwart LaSalle Academy in New York City, spent his freshman year in 1999-2000 at Connors State College in Warner, Okla., so he does have a redshirt year to get his classroom work finished.

JUCO Junction will keep you posted should anything change regarding Caballero's status this spring.