Jon Rothstein reports that Stanford graduate transfer Reid Travis will visit Villanova and Kentucky following his graduation from Stanford on June 17.
Travis is considered the top remaining grad transfer on the market following consecutive All Pac-12 Team selections. He averaged 19.5 points and 8.7 rebounds last season.
Landing Travis would be a huge boost for Nova, helping to ease the loss of Omari Spellman as the Cats await the progression of Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree and Dylan Painter and the arrival of four-star big man Eric Dixon in 2019. Despite a differing skill set from Spellman, Travis would pair well with Eric Paschall to give the Cats a formidable, experienced duo in the frontcourt that can be counted on immediately. At the same time, it would ease some of the pressure on young, developing players like Cosby-Roundtree and Painter and incoming freshman Cole Swider.
Travis has long been connected to Kentucky, but the departure of Spellman may have created the perfect storm for Nova to snatch Travis from those other Wildcats.
Kentucky's frontcourt is much more crowded, while there are clearly significant minutes there for the taking at Villanova.
Furthermore, after pulling his name from the NBA draft, Travis has noted that he wanted to work on his outside shot. You may remember that Villanova just broke the record for threes made in a season, and big men like Spellman and Paschall played a role in that accomplishment. Villanova has become known for giving its players the green light, and have proven that it understands the value of bigs who can shoot and stretch the floor. If that is something that Travis wishes to improve on and have the opportunity to do, Villanova is the perfect place to do so.
While this could still go either way, it's hard not to feel that Nova is gaining momentum. Expect dates of visits and a decision to come fairly rapidly after graduation.
Travis is considered the top remaining grad transfer on the market following consecutive All Pac-12 Team selections. He averaged 19.5 points and 8.7 rebounds last season.
Landing Travis would be a huge boost for Nova, helping to ease the loss of Omari Spellman as the Cats await the progression of Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree and Dylan Painter and the arrival of four-star big man Eric Dixon in 2019. Despite a differing skill set from Spellman, Travis would pair well with Eric Paschall to give the Cats a formidable, experienced duo in the frontcourt that can be counted on immediately. At the same time, it would ease some of the pressure on young, developing players like Cosby-Roundtree and Painter and incoming freshman Cole Swider.
Travis has long been connected to Kentucky, but the departure of Spellman may have created the perfect storm for Nova to snatch Travis from those other Wildcats.
Kentucky's frontcourt is much more crowded, while there are clearly significant minutes there for the taking at Villanova.
Furthermore, after pulling his name from the NBA draft, Travis has noted that he wanted to work on his outside shot. You may remember that Villanova just broke the record for threes made in a season, and big men like Spellman and Paschall played a role in that accomplishment. Villanova has become known for giving its players the green light, and have proven that it understands the value of bigs who can shoot and stretch the floor. If that is something that Travis wishes to improve on and have the opportunity to do, Villanova is the perfect place to do so.
While this could still go either way, it's hard not to feel that Nova is gaining momentum. Expect dates of visits and a decision to come fairly rapidly after graduation.
