He has changed teams and changed conferences. He needs to adjust to new teammates, new coaches and a new system. A college graduate, he must relate to freshmen and sophomores. He's being asked to change his playing style and lose weight. Then there's the culture shock associated with moving from the West Coast to the Bluegrass, from Stanford and its reputation as one of the world's top academic institutions to Kentucky and, as we're reminded before every home game, "the greatest tradition in the history of college basketball."
Oh yeah, and he's also expected to lead Kentucky to a national championship by providing the kind of veteran leadership its teams often lack.
Has any player ever faced a greater challenge than Reid Travis faces in the 2018-19 season?
"When you put it in that perspective, it does sound like a big load," his father, Nate Travis, said recently.
But the elder Travis and others say the challenge is not too big.
As paradoxical as it might sound, Travis has been adjusting to new circumstances and leading for a long time. From middle school to high school to Stanford and now to Kentucky. He changed AAU teams after his sophomore year of high school.
Quarterback of the high school football team. Three-year captain of the high school basketball team.
"He was always the kid they looked up to in the community," his father said of Reid's upbringing in Minneapolis. "So a lot of things come naturally. I'm sure he does it without giving it a thought."
