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professional aspirations aside, even as he was forced to walk-on at his new school. With the Gamecocks and Rebels both in the SEC, Ole Miss refused to release Holloway from his scholarship to attend another SEC school. Holloway says Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy was sensitive to his situation. Kennedy never tried to convince him to stay, and said he understood Holloway's need to transfer. Still, Kennedy refused to release him from his scholarship, forcing Holloway to bear the burden of paying his own tuition for a year at South Carolina. Many would have been resentful toward Kennedy, or questioned his intentions. Yet the then 21-year-old Holloway took the decision in stride. "I didn't hold a grudge that they wouldn't release me from my scholarship to go to USC 'cause I can understand why they wouldn't want to do that and play against me in the future," he says. "They were just doing what they had to do and thought was best for their program." As soon as his sophomore year ended, problem was now fxed," he says. "That's when I realized I wanted to transfer back to Ole Miss. I told Coach Horn (the then head coach at SC) and he called Coach Kennedy for me and asked if they would have me back, and Coach Kennedy said yes." Holloway held no resentment toward Kennedy for not releasing him from his scholarship. Yet not many people would have been willing to go back. Then again, not many people are wired like Murphy Holloway. Upon deciding to transfer back to Oxford for his junior season, Holloway petitioned to the NCAA to play right away. He documented his reasons for transferring to and from South Carolina, his family situation, who would be taking care of his daughter, and his path to graduate from Ole Miss. Despite the situation's uniqueness, the NCAA granted him immediate eligibility. The team started the year 10-4, but fnished the regular season 17-13 and dealing with players who had character issues, Kennedy decided to roll the dice on the dynamic Henderson, who had bounced around from Utah to Texas Tech to junior college before coming to Ole Miss. So far this season, Henderson has only made news on the court, and he's providing a huge spark to the Rebels, averaging a team-high 19.7 points a night (while irritating others with his emotional demeanor and somewhat excessive celebrations). "He has made a huge impact on the team," Holloway says. "It has helped me and Reginald a lot because teams used to be able to double down in the post, but now you can't help off Marshall cause he's such a good shooter and scorer so it opens up things down low. I love having him on my team. He's a great player, a very emotional player and he really gets us fred up. Not everyone in the SEC likes him but I love having him on my team." With Henderson in the fold, the WITH THE END IN SIGHT, HOLLOWAY IS GLAD HE GETS ONE LAST GO AROUND TO MAKE HIS MARK. Holloway returned home and enrolled at the University of South Carolina. He didn't apply for a hardship waiver, partly because traveling with the team would have meant time away from his family, and sat out a year exclusively practicing with the team, even though he probably would have been granted a release to play right away. At South Carolina, Holloway was conficted. He knew he made the right decision for his family. He knew they needed him. But his heart was still in Mississippi. He longed for his teammates and kept up with them throughout the season, and when his own season ended, things were looking up for his family. His mother was doing much better and his daughter's mom had graduated high school, meaning she could now take care of their daughter full-time. Holloway began to ask himself what he was still doing in South Carolina. "After those two situations resolved themselves I kind of asked myself 'What am I doing here?' I came for one reason and one reason only and that made another trip to the NIT. Off-thecourt issues dogged the talented Rebels last year. In January, Kennedy kicked leading scorer Dundrecous Nelson off the team for being arrested for possession of marijuana, and also kicked reserve guard Jamal Jones off the team. Then there was the eligibility of the troubled Jelan Kendrick. Kendrick transferred to Ole Miss in December of 2010 after being kicked off the Memphis Tigers' basketball team before ever playing a game. Kennedy decided to take a chance on him. It ultimately didn't pay off. Kendrick was late to shootarounds, confronted teammates, and was even engaged in a post-game brawl with teammate Reginald Buckner after a home loss to Vanderbilt. He was ultimately suspended later in the season before being let go in the offseason. All of those events essentially sabotaged Ole Miss' season. Holloway and fellow seniors Reginald Buckner and Nick Williams had one last chance to take the Rebels to the NCAAs, but needed help. That help came in the form of Marshall Henderson. Despite their recent track record of 41 team started off 17-3. As of press time, they were 23-8 and second in the SEC. Kennedy is trying to temper expectations by saying the team still has a long way to go, but the excitement in Oxford is palpable. The team knocked off then No. 10 Missouri in early January by 15, and begun selling out their home games. Ole Miss beat writer Hugh Kellenberger joked on Twitter: "There's a scalper looking to BUY tickets at an OLE MISS basketball game. What is happening here?" With a down year in the SEC, things are starting to fall into place for this team. They have a dynamite scorer in Marshall Henderson, and a calming infuence at point guard in Jarvis Summers. Then there's Holloway, averaging 14.6 points and a team-high 9.6 rebounds a game. He's big, physical and levelheaded. He also knows what it is like to fall short of your goals. He's just enjoying the ride now. With the end in sight, Holloway is glad he gets one last go around to make his mark, and hopefully lead his team to the Big Dance.