August 21, 2012

2014 Recruiting Update: Reid Travis




“To Be or Not to be?  That is the question.” Or in this case, we have an elite athlete’s twist on the age-old Shakespeare dilemma: to play Division 1 Football or Basketball in their collegiate career.  Reid Travis is currently wrestling with this decision.

2014 recruit Reid Travis has garnered much attention on the recruiting circuit, in both basketball and football.  Hailing from DeLaSalle, Minnesota, Travis is used to being a star athlete, whether it be playing power forward on the basketball court, or as quarterback on the gridiron.  He currently holds scholarship offers for both sports (listed below):


Football:
-       Boston College (Offer)
-       Iowa (Considering)
-       Minnesota (Considering)
-       Wisconsin (Considering)

Basketball:
August 18: “So far Minnesota, USC, Washington State, Harvard, Lehigh, Northwestern, Purdue, Butler, and there’s a few more. But that’s just the top, to name a few,” said Travis.

Currently, Travis holds 19 scholarship offers in basketball, and is considering many more schools.  Gonzaga has not offered him a scholarship at this time.

At 6’7” and weighing 215 pounds, Reid Travis possesses a skillset that basketball enthusiasts drool over.  

An ESPN analyst had this to say about Reid Travis: “He is an excellent rebounder and has natural instincts around the basket. He rebounds well out of his area and he finishes pretty well with contact.”

Rebounding has often been a weakness for Gonzaga recruits and players.  As big bodies hovering around the rim, Gonzaga Bigs have often lacked the follow-through or the instinct to capture rebounds.  With a honed in rebounding ability, Reid Travis would be a great addition to Gonzaga in 2014, especially with the graduation of Elias Harris.

(Note and slightly off topic: I firmly believe that had Ryan Spangler remained at Gonzaga, he would have proven to be an outstanding rebounder.)

So, when can we expect Reid Travis to make the big decision between football and basketball?  We have a while to wait, Reid Travis in a recent interview has indicated he does not plan to make this decision until next summer or fall. 


If he does choose the basketball route, Gonzaga has a lot of catching up to do, with over twenty schools already in the mix.

What are your thoughts?  Should Gonzaga invest more time pursuing Reid Travis with so many other schools already in the arena?

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