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There is no question that Reid Travis has been a huge piece of this year’s team Without him, who knows how the season would’ve gone after the slow start to the year.
However, Travis is one of the graduate transfers that John Calipari has said he didn’t want to get in the past.
After having a guy like Travis on the roster this year, I think that has changed Cal’s mind about going after grad transfers in the future.
Travis has been the consistent leader for this team, because he knows what it takes to win in college, and he brings a consistency every day that goes a long way to helping this team perform at a high level.
On his weekly call-in show, Cal had this to say about going after grad transfers:
Calipari says Reid Travis may lead to Kentucky recruiting more grad transfers, although he still wants to stay away from those coming from mid-major schools. "I see what this did for Reid in what he was trying to do. I would absolutely consider under the right circumstances."
— TheCatsPause247 (@TheCatsPause247) March 25, 2019
“I see what this did for Reid in what he was trying to do. I would absolutely consider under the right circumstances”
For Cal, the right circumstances would mean not taking a guy from a mid-major program as he “hesitates” to take players from their programs, because of how much it would hurt that program.
At the same time, if transfers from smaller schools reach out to Kentucky, Cal will probably listen. After all, Julius Mays reached out to Kentucky back in 2012 as a grad transfer from Wright State, and he ended up joining the Wildcats for the 2012-13 season. To this day, he remains the only mid-major transfer that Kentucky has seriously pursued.
It’s also worth pointing out that back in 2017, Kentucky was recruiting Pittsburgh transfer Cameron Johnson, who wound up picking North Carolina. So for the past two offseasons, Kentucky has pursued a transfer from a Power 5 conference.
If Coach Cal and his staff miss out on some of the top bigs left for 2019, then going after another grad transfer would be the most likely option. And don’t rule out another guard either if Ashton Hagans, Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro all go pro, as that would leave Kentucky with just three true scholarship guards in Immanuel Quickley, Jemarl Baker and Tyrese Maxey.
If you’re intrigued, here is Watch Stadium’s list of the college basketball transfers for this offseason.