Reid Travis looks like he’s about to become a Wildcat.
Standout forward Reid Travis announced today that he’s withdrawing from the 2018 NBA Draft pool, but he won’t be back at Stanford next season.
The 6-8 Travis, who was named first-team All-Pac 12 last season, while averaging 19.5 points and 8.7 rebounds a game intends to transfer. He will be immediately eligible to play under graduate transfer rules. Travis graduated from Stanford this spring after four years in school, but he still has a year of eligibility left because he took a medical redshirt during the 2015-16 season.
Had he remained at Stanford, Travis would have likely been the preseason favorite to win Pac-12 Player of the Year next season.
At this moment, Kentucky looks to be the heavy favorite to land Travis, but Villanova is also in the running. Both programs suffered loses today as Kentucky saw Jarred Vanderbilt and Wenyen Gabriel announce their intentions to stay in the draft, while Omari Spellman did the same at Villanova.
Even at 6-8. Travis is more of an old-school big than a modern day player. One of the top back-to-the-basket scorers in the college ranks, Travis does almost all of his damage in the lane and while he did take a career-high 61 3’s last season, he made only 29%. While he’s a strong rebounder, he offers next to nothing in terms of rim protection, having blocked just 21 shots in 98 career games.
While he’s sure to make an impact wherever he lands, it would seem like Villanova offers a more clear part to playtime as the program now lacks any other bigman of his caliber. On the other hand, at Kentucky, he would have Nick Richards, P.J. Washington, and E.J. Montgomery on the roster.
Below you’ll find the tweet Travis posted earlier making his announcement:
