Reid Travis has gone from Cardinal Red to Kentucky Blue.
Travis and Kentucky both announced he was transferring to the program on Wednesday through Twitter.
The 6-foot-8, 245-pound forward has been one of the Pac-12’s best players over the last two seasons, making this a critical loss for the Stanford program.
Travis averaged 17.4 points and 8.9 rebounds in 2016-17 and 19.5 points and 8.7 rebounds last season.
Travis offered these quotes in a statement:
“Sunday I had the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream of graduating from Stanford University,” Travis said. “I built relationships and memories at Stanford that will last a lifetime. I’m extremely proud to be able to say that I’m a Stanford alum. I want to thank my friends, coaches, teammates, alumni, professors, administrators and student body for playing such a big role in the man that I’ve become over these past four years. ”With that being said, I’m looking forward to a fresh start and another year of working towards my dreams. As I move on to the next step of my career, I wanted to find a school that will continue to align with my academic and athletic interests. After getting to know the staff and players on my visit, it became clear to me that there was no better place for me to start this next journey in my life then at the University of Kentucky. ”I’m excited to work hard every day and give everything of myself to the program to compete for a national championship and turn the game I love into a profession. Big Blue Nation, I can’t wait to get started.”
Comments
Well that's a huge loss.
Good that he graduated, sad that he didn’t stick around to help the Cardinal program improve. All the best. But I do not root for Kentucky Wildcats. Just not part of my DNA.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 06.20.18 1:46pm
And call me over-sensitive, but this is not a sentence worthy of a Stanford graduate:
"After getting to know the staff and players on my visit, it became clear to me that there was no better place for me to start this next journey in my life then at the University of Kentucky."
By Jeff Tarnungus on 06.20.18 1:51pm
Eh.
Doesn’t bother me that much. He’s trying to show his appreciation for Kentucky taking him and get the fans on his side. Personally, I appreciate his efforts at Stanford. Seems like he played hard. Too bad we didn’t have a better team. That being said, I think if he had stuck around, he could have been part of something more successful. With DD and the other Freshmen coming back for year 2, I think we make a run at the NCAA’s with Travis on the floor.
In any event, best of luck to him.
By Blackjoy on 06.20.18 2:47pm
Yeah, he's got to do what's best for his future. But I cannot muster a lot of positive feelings for the Wildcats of Kentucky.
They are a one-and-done haven. At least Reid can point to a completed degree, which garners my respect (despite that sentence…. )
By Jeff Tarnungus on 06.20.18 2:51pm
At least he'll get paid more than G league.
By Blackjoy on 06.20.18 5:11pm
3 names . .
Reggie Bush, OJ Mayo & Tony Bland . .
By PimpDaddyNash on 06.21.18 7:02am
What do these USC people have to do with Stanford?
By Jeff Tarnungus on 06.21.18 1:18pm
Sounds a bit elitist....
Nothing wrong with going to Kentucky. I wonder what academic program he found that Stanford doesn’t offer though that he wanted to pursue. Doesn’t the NCAA require that for grad transfers?
By atg_commish on 06.28.18 11:46am
I think the point is that his decision has nothing to do with education.
I think some at Stanford find Reid’s comment, " I wanted to find a school that will continue to align with my academic and athletic interests…" to be a slight on Stanford’s education. It’s not. The key phrase here is Reid’s "athletic interests." Stanford simply does not offer the NBA exposure that Kentucky offers. It’s my guess Reid doesn’t want to say that publicly, so Reid tries to portray the decision as being affected by the educational aspect. IMO, he should have just said nothing about why he chose Kentucky. We all know why, don’t insult our collective intelligence and try to mask the motivation. I certainly don’t fault him for choosing UK over Stanford if he wants to go to the NBA. It is what it is.
By Blackjoy on 06.29.18 9:34am