Sophomore Reid Travis of Minneapolis DeLaSalle is one of the state’s top two-sport athletes. He had an outstanding season as the quarterback for the Islanders and is one of the state’s top basketball players in the loaded Class of 2014.
Sophomore Reid Travis of Minneapolis DeLaSalle is one of the state’s top two-sport athletes. He had an outstanding season as the quarterback for the Islanders and is one of the state’s top basketball players in the loaded Class of 2014.
Travis is the younger brother of Jonah, who is at Harvard after averaging 19.0 points per game as a senior. The younger brother is averaging over 19 points per game this season, showing off his offensive game with the loss of his older sibling and the other six top scorers from last season.
Travis played for the Minnesota Pump N Run 15-and-under AAU program, which won the King of the Court Tournament and was second place in the Double Pump Spring Tournament in Denver, the Pump N Run Spring Classic and adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas.
GopherHole.com recently caught up with Travis to learn the latest on his continued development and recruitment.
GopherHole: I know that you have picked up two offers from Creighton and Northwestern. How pleased are you with getting that kind of recognition as a sophomore?
Reid Travis: I am really happy. I know that Northwestern and Creighton are two really good schools and I know that this year, they are having successful years. Just to pick that up early is really nice.
GopherHole: What others schools are you hearing from right now?
Reid Travis: A couple of Big Ten schools like Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Florida State still. Iowa State.
GopherHole: How about your team’s play? How pleased are you with how well you are playing right now?
Reid Travis: I am real pleased. I think as the season is going on, we are getting better and maturing. I know that we are a younger team and had some young mistakes at the start, but you can tell that every game we are just getting better, which is good if we keep improving through March, we should be pretty good.
GopherHole: The last time I saw you play, De La Salle had probably their worst game of the season in Wisconsin, losing to Sun Prairie 61-35.
Reid Travis: That was a tough one.
GopherHole: Was that a good experience for you? I know that you don’t want to lose, but there are things you can gain from a loss like that which will help you later on in the season.
Reid Travis: Yes. We needed that. That loss, when we got beat down like that, you could tell in everyone’s eyes, the motivation after that, coming to practice and working a lot harder. We weren’t going to let that happen again. I think that just upped our play the past couple of weeks.
GopherHole: Have you talked to some schools about trying to make some visits or go to some college camps?
Reid Travis: I really haven’t talked about that at all. Probably in the spring, I’ll start doing that.
GopherHole: What are the expectations for the rest of the year and going into the playoffs?
Reid Travis: To win our section first and get into state would be pretty good. That is what we need to do. From there on, we are trying to win a state championship. That is what we worked for. Anything less than that, we would just fall short of our expectations.
GopherHole: You are averaging 19 points per game as a sophomore, which is more than your brother averaged as a senior. Have you mentioned that to him as a little bit of a sibling rivalry?
Reid Travis: I talked to him about that. Don’t tell him that. He’ll say it is a different kind of basketball now.
GopherHole: You put up 32 points the other week and have had some big offensive games. You have to be pleased with your own individual play this year?
Reid Travis: Yes, I am pretty happy with it.
GopherHole: What things have you been working on to continue to improve yourself as a player?
Reid Travis: Just on my strength a lot. I have been hitting the weight room, especially for working in the paint a lot, playing guys that are bigger than me day in and day out. Just to get a lot stronger is what I am trying to do.
GopherHole: Have you had a chance to get to many college games this season?
Reid Travis: I went to a Gopher game versus NDSU and I went to the Iowa State-Kansas game.
GopherHole: Iowa State had a big upset that game with a big crowd. What was that experience like?
Reid Travis: There is nothing better. Just to see a student section and storm the court and go into the locker room right after it happened. There is nothing better than that.
GopherHole: What was the experience like going to the Minnesota game?
Reid Travis: It was a good game. NDSU came down and they were pretty good and the Gophers had to battle to beat them. Just to see how the Gophers picked it up and the team camaraderie that they had. It was nice to see.
GopherHole: I know that Harvard is not on TV much, but have you had a chance to follow your brother much, either online or talking to him after games?
Reid Travis: Yes. I actually have it on my IPad, so I follow all the stats and play-by-play and try to do it that way. I’ll text him a lot and call him about the games. .
GopherHole: Would you ever think about going there or would you rather play closer to home where your parents can come and see you play. I know that it is tough for them because they are used to watching Jonah play, but it is so far away.
Reid Travis: I would always put them at the top of the list. I would love to go out there with him, so just to always have that as one or two and consider that