Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - Printable Version
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Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - burger - 03-21-2019
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/sports/travis-reid-kentucky.html?action=click&module=Editors%20Picks&pgtype=Homepage
No explicit digs at Stanford, but the subtext here is clearly that Stanford wasn't good enough.
Quote:“You’re playing 30-something games a season, but you’re in practice almost 200 days,” said Travis, analyzing the problem like an engineer.
“So where can I go where I’m playing against a pro every day in practice?” he added. “I felt like this was the best platform, where everyone can potentially be a pro at their position, and that’s who you’re training with at night, that’s who you’re practicing with, that’s who you’re hanging out with, eating with. Everyone has the same mind-set of trying to be a professional.”
And this
Quote:“I’ve been happy with what I came for,” Travis said recently, “and what I really came for is March.”
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - Goose - 03-21-2019
(03-21-2019, 08:30 AM)burger Wrote: No explicit digs at Stanford, but the subtext here is clearly that Stanford wasn't good enough.
Reminds me of a David Shaw quote, where a recruit he really wanted said he wasn't coming to Stanford because "Your team just isn't good enough". Shaw said at that time he couldn't disagree and set out to make that not true in the future. Probably the same deal in basketball. If your team isn't good enough, lots of guys won't play for you. It is a process. Reid Travis had no time for the process to work for him. Perfectly logical, even if you believe the process is going to deliver consistently good teams in the future.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - 2006alum - 03-21-2019
I mean, that's pretty much exactly what I've been saying all along - Travis wants a shot at pro and playing a season at Kentucky would give him a much better chance at it, because he's playing for a coach who's sent many players to the NBA, is playing against NBA caliber kids every day in practice, and will get far more NBA scout attention at his games. In the end, I'm skeptical that it will make much of a difference, but he does get a March Madness run he never had at Stanford.
Since his classmates graduated, and the coach that recruited him was let go, I don't think he owed anything more to Stanford. Wish him the best, and hope he has a good run in the tournament.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - washingtonismoney - 03-21-2019
Probably worth reiterating that the NBA is not the only game in town. While it's not for everyone, there are good basketball leagues in Europe where you'll earn mid-six figures after taxes (with paid apartments, cars, etc.). So we don't have to make it seem as if Travis is aiming at some impossible target. (I agree he's unlikely to stick in the NBA.)
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - burger - 03-21-2019
I still don't think he's getting drafted. Not tall or athletic enough to play C or PF in the NBA now. Too big and slow for SF. It's possible he could impress in the G-League and work his way up to the bigs that way (it worked for Chasson Randle). I checked a bunch of mock drafts a while back and didn't see Travis' name in any of them.
As a basketball fan, I hope he does get drafted. But as a Stanford fan, I have mixed feelings. I would hate to see the "you have to leave Stanford to succeed" narrative get legs.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - ColoradoTree - 03-21-2019
(03-21-2019, 08:42 AM)2006alum Wrote: I mean, that's pretty much exactly what I've been saying all along - Travis wants a shot at pro and playing a season at Kentucky would give him a much better chance at it, because he's playing for a coach who's sent many players to the NBA, is playing against NBA caliber kids every day in practice, and will get far more NBA scout attention at his games. In the end, I'm skeptical that it will make much of a difference, but he does get a March Madness run he never had at Stanford.
Since his classmates graduated, and the coach that recruited him was let go, I don't think he owed anything more to Stanford. Wish him the best, and hope he has a good run in the tournament.
Yeah, he's a grad transfer--I view those guys as almost free agents. If it's to their benefit to stay, great. If it helps them to leave, well, then that's on us for not being a more attractive option to them (or, it's on them for not being good enough to stay, though here that's obviously not the case). When guys graduate, I strongly feel that the mutual obligations between player and university have ceased, and it's like a mutual option year on a pro contract if they want to stay longer.
I can't fault his decision one bit. I'm glad he came to Stanford, and I'm not disappointed in him--I'm disappointed in our program that we weren't a more attractive option for him.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - Phogge - 03-21-2019
Bad PR for the Stanford program.
However some mid major programs without NBA talent do OK in March. Watching Wofford not make many mistakes makes me wonder why Stanford players make so many.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - Goose - 03-21-2019
(03-21-2019, 09:13 AM)ColoradoTree Wrote: I can't fault his decision one bit. I'm glad he came to Stanford, and I'm not disappointed in him--I'm disappointed in our program that we weren't a more attractive option for him.+1
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - FarmBoy - 03-21-2019
It's almost an impossible bar to think that Stanford could ever get to the level, consistently, where a recruit feels like they're going against NBA talent in practice. There's only a handful of programs that can make that case, so it's not a reasonable goal, in my opinion.
I haven't followed him closely at Kentucky, but from what I've seen of him, he's not an NBA player in the current league of ultra athletic and skilled big men who can make 3's consistently.
I have nothing against him, but I won't root for him or follow him like I do other Stanford alums in the bros.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - Goose - 03-21-2019
(03-21-2019, 09:36 AM)Phogge Wrote: Watching Wofford not make many mistakes makes me wonder why Stanford players make so many.
Good question. Stanford has stressed becoming quicker and "more athletic". Some would say they have made progress in those areas. While that would be great, if it comes at the cost of playing sloppy and making bad decisions, it is not a net positive. Lets hope that a year of off-season coaching cuts down greatly on the mistakes. If it doesn't we are looking at another poor finish next year, I think.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - ColoradoTree - 03-21-2019
(03-21-2019, 09:41 AM)FarmBoy Wrote: I have nothing against him, but I won't root for him or follow him like I do other Stanford alums in the bros.
You know, when you put it like that, I suppose I feel the same way. I'm certainly not mad at him for making the best decision for him, but spending a year at another school means he's not really a "Stanford guy" at the next level, is he? If a guy leaves early for the pros, I've made pretty clearly on this board that I'm mostly fine with that (for example, I still very much root for Christian McCaffrey to succeed), but there's a meaningful difference (for me, at least) between starting a pro career early and leaving for another school first. Again, I've got no beef with Reid Travis, I respect him doing what's best for him, and I agree that he made the right decision. But sometimes making the right decision still has costs, and I suppose one of the costs of going to Kentucky is that Stanford fans no longer think of Reid as "our guy." I'm sure he's completely fine with that, but such is life.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - washingtonismoney - 03-21-2019
(03-21-2019, 09:41 AM)FarmBoy Wrote: It's almost an impossible bar to think that Stanford could ever get to the level, consistently, where a recruit feels like they're going against NBA talent in practice. There's only a handful of programs that can make that case, so it's not a reasonable goal, in my opinion.
You hear variations of this view all the time -- that Stanford shouldn't have very high expectations, in essence, for MBB -- on fan forums and frankly I think it's very strange:
1) Of course there's a brobdingnagian gap between "perennial power" and "whatever it is Stanford is doing right now." For example the school could qualify for the tournament more often than not, which is hardly an outlandish ask.
2) That said, foreclosing on excellence seems pretty strange to me also. Villanova is one of the most successful schools in the country. There are more. Meanwhile, archetypal NBA-talent-accumulator Kentucky hasn't made the Final Four since 2014-15. It's hardly a closed cartel at the top.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - terry - 03-21-2019
Travis' stats at Kentucky compared to his last two years at Stanford:
.........................Min/gm Pts/gm Reb/gm FG pct FT pct 3pt pct
2017 Stanford......30.1.......17.4......8.9........57.9......65.2......0.0
2018 Stanford......34.0.......19.5......8.7........52.7......67.5.....29.5
2019 Kentucky.....27.5.......11.1......6.9........52.0......72.7.....28.0
Nice improvement in free throw shooting. He must have benefitted from practicing free throws against future pros. :-)
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - 2006alum - 03-21-2019
Hah. Well bear in mind he's now a role player rather than the star player, which means he's taking fewer shots per game, and he's also facing way, way better competition this year than he faced last season. In addition to all the ranked SEC teams the Wildcats played, Kentucky also played Duke, Kansas, and UNC out of conference.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - FarmBoy - 03-21-2019
(03-21-2019, 10:44 AM)washingtonismoney Wrote:(03-21-2019, 09:41 AM)FarmBoy Wrote: It's almost an impossible bar to think that Stanford could ever get to the level, consistently, where a recruit feels like they're going against NBA talent in practice. There's only a handful of programs that can make that case, so it's not a reasonable goal, in my opinion.
You hear variations of this view all the time -- that Stanford shouldn't have very high expectations, in essence, for MBB -- on fan forums and frankly I think it's very strange:
1) Of course there's a of immense proportions gap between "perennial power" and "whatever it is Stanford is doing right now." For example the school could qualify for the tournament more often than not, which is hardly an outlandish ask.
2) That said, foreclosing on excellence seems pretty strange to me also. Villanova is one of the most successful schools in the country. There are more. Meanwhile, archetypal NBA-talent-accumulator Kentucky hasn't made the Final Four since 2014-15. It's hardly a closed cartel at the top.
Don't take my statement as an indication that I think Stanford can't be excellent at basketball. What I meant is that IF Travis' decision was really based on going to a place where the 200 days of practice would be against NBA players, then there's nothing Stanford could have done about it. That's not a variable we can manage. We have to excel in other areas (i.e., the 40 year decision) in addition to a legacy of players going to the NBA to show that coming to Stanford is smart for basketball and life. If a player is going to decide on a school based only on whether they're going to be matched up against NBA talent in practice, then we should target other players.
And we shouldn't feel bad about it. If Travis had said "I wanted to play someplace where I'd be able to have a modicum of possibility of playing the The Big Dance", then I would have felt it was a slap in the face. But what he said was something I can live with.
TreesAndBirds - TreesAndBirds - 03-21-2019
Travis 8 for 10 FGs, 2 for 2 FTs in Kentucky romp in first round.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - OutsiderFan - 03-21-2019
Reid Travis is not an NBA player. Period. But as WIM pointed out, he will likely have a pro basketball career in the many overseas leagues if he wants that.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - JohnR34231 - 03-22-2019
(03-21-2019, 10:21 AM)ColoradoTree Wrote:(03-21-2019, 09:41 AM)FarmBoy Wrote: I have nothing against him, but I won't root for him or follow him like I do other Stanford alums in the bros.
You know, when you put it like that, I suppose I feel the same way. I'm certainly not mad at him for making the best decision for him, but spending a year at another school means he's not really a "Stanford guy" at the next level, is he? If a guy leaves early for the pros, I've made pretty clearly on this board that I'm mostly fine with that (for example, I still very much root for Christian McCaffrey to succeed), but there's a meaningful difference (for me, at least) between starting a pro career early and leaving for another school first. Again, I've got no beef with Reid Travis, I respect him doing what's best for him, and I agree that he made the right decision. But sometimes making the right decision still has costs, and I suppose one of the costs of going to Kentucky is that Stanford fans no longer think of Reid as "our guy." I'm sure he's completely fine with that, but such is life.
Interesting. It would seem to me that a guy who gets a Stanford degree would be more of a "Stanford guy" than one who leaves without a degree to get the big bucks in the pros, regardless of what the former does after he gets the degree. I guess we all have our opinions.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - ColoradoTree - 03-22-2019
(03-22-2019, 08:22 AM)JohnR34231 Wrote: Interesting. It would seem to me that a guy who gets a Stanford degree would be more of a "Stanford guy" than one who leaves without a degree to get the big bucks in the pros, regardless of what the former does after he gets the degree. I guess we all have our opinions.
Christian plans on coming back and finishing. Justin Reid is back on campus this quarter to keep working towards his degree. To me, there's nothing sacred about finishing in four years and then going pro. The right time, financially and health-wise, for those two guys to go was when they went. Getting the degree is critical, don't get me wrong--if Christian announced he no longer planned on getting his degree, I'd sour on him. But Justin has said he thinks it'll take 3-4 years of coming back and taking classes to finish up. I'm completely fine with that. As long as there is a plan to come back, I'm good.
We don't have to share Christian or Justin with any other school. They're ours and ours alone. We have to share Reid Travis with Kentucky, and it's always the last school that becomes your "true" school for the purposes of how the world sees you. For example, Brennan Scarlett is ours now, not Cal's. (See this article: they don't even mention his name among the "former players on NFL rosters" - https://calbears.com/news/2018/9/6/football-season-begins-with-29-former-players-on-nfl-rosters.aspx). Russell Wilson announces his alma mater in the MNF lineup intros as Wisconsin, not N.C. State. If Reid Travis somehow does make the NBA (and I agree that's not terribly likely, but one never knows), he'll be known to the world as a Kentucky guy, not a Stanford guy.
Again, I don't begrudge Reid Travis anything. Good for him. But he went to another school, so he's necessarily not our guy and our guy alone anymore.
RE: Reid Travis on why he left Stanford - JohnR34231 - 03-22-2019
(03-22-2019, 09:03 AM)ColoradoTree Wrote:(03-22-2019, 08:22 AM)JohnR34231 Wrote: Interesting. It would seem to me that a guy who gets a Stanford degree would be more of a "Stanford guy" than one who leaves without a degree to get the big bucks in the pros, regardless of what the former does after he gets the degree. I guess we all have our opinions.
Christian plans on coming back and finishing. Justin Reid is back on campus this quarter to keep working towards his degree. To me, there's nothing sacred about finishing in four years and then going pro. The right time, financially and health-wise, for those two guys to go was when they went. Getting the degree is critical, don't get me wrong--if Christian announced he no longer planned on getting his degree, I'd sour on him. But Justin has said he thinks it'll take 3-4 years of coming back and taking classes to finish up. I'm completely fine with that. As long as there is a plan to come back, I'm good.
We don't have to share Christian or Justin with any other school. They're ours and ours alone. We have to share Reid Travis with Kentucky, and it's always the last school that becomes your "true" school for the purposes of how the world sees you. For example, Brennan Scarlett is ours now, not Cal's. (See this article: they don't even mention his name among the "former players on NFL rosters" - https://calbears.com/news/2018/9/6/football-season-begins-with-29-former-players-on-nfl-rosters.aspx). Russell Wilson announces his alma mater in the MNF lineup intros as Wisconsin, not N.C. State. If Reid Travis somehow does make the NBA (and I agree that's not terribly likely, but one never knows), he'll be known to the world as a Kentucky guy, not a Stanford guy.
Again, I don't begrudge Reid Travis anything. Good for him. But he went to another school, so he's necessarily not our guy and our guy alone anymore.
Everyone says they plan on coming back and finishing, so I would take that with a bit of a grain of salt. (I have no idea what the statistics actually are on people who actually do come back).
Like I said, a matter of opinion.