Summer Hoops Preview: What kind of player will Reid Travis be for UK?

Most years in mid-July the college basketball season would still be four months away, but thanks to Kentucky's trip to the Bahamas, UK fans will get a privileged look at their Wildcats early next month.

Cats Illustrated will still be previewing the season in the build-up to the start of regular season play in November, but we're also taking an early peak at what might be looming during the Cats' four-game exhibition set in the Caribbean.

To do that, here's the start of a player preview series that will shine the spotlight on each and every Wildcat expected to be a rotation player for John Calipari in the 2018-19 season.

It's only fitting that we start with Stanford transfer Reid Travis, the player who found himself as the center of so much attention in the offseason with his decision to spend his graduate year in Lexington.

What kind of impact will the 6-foot-8, 245-pound big man make?

What should our expectations be for the accomplished Pac-12 transfer?

Is he the player who takes Kentucky from good to great and provides the physical presence and veteran leadership needed for the Cats to cut down the nets in Minneapolis, a place close to Travis' heart?

Over the past few months and especially recently Kentucky fans have been learning about former Stanford forward and recent UK enrollee Reid Travis. He'll soon make his debut for the Wildcats in live action down in the Bahamas, but Cats Illustrated takes a closer look at Travis' playing history, his development and what kind of impact and role he might have for John Calipari's much-anticipated 2018-19 team.

College Career to Date: Travis will have more experience than almost any Kentucky basketball player in recent memory, having played four seasons at Stanford and gaining an additional season due to medical hardship.

As a freshman Travis missed nine games in the middle of the season, and as a sophomore during the 2015-16 campaign his action ended after a December 15th game against DePaul. He would go on to take a medical redshirt.

When Kentucky opens play in the Bahamas it will mark the second preseason overseas exhibition trip for Travis, who took part in a Stanford trip to Italy before the 2015-16 season.

For all of Travis' production and personal accolades, he has not participated in the NCAA tournament to date. The Cardinal's last trip to the Big Dance was in 2014 before Travis joined the program.

Why He Matters: The departures of Jarred Vanderbilt and Wenyen Gabriel wouldn't exactly have doomed Kentucky or relegated the Wildcats to a 'down' year given everything else Calipari returns and adds, but the addition of Travis is the main reason pundits seem to believe Kentucky is a national championship frontrunner.

While Travis hasn't played for good teams and the Pac-12 has been very down, he has played stiff competition. During the 2017-18 season alone Travis and his Stanford team faced the likes of Kansas, North Carolina and Florida, with the big man posting big numbers in most of those marquee games (which were losses).

Before Travis' addition Kentucky looked like a promising team due to a very deep backcourt and a versatile frontcourt featuring P.J. Washington, E.J. Montgomery and Nick Richardson. When Travis picked Kentucky he gave the Wildcats as much depth up front as they have on the perimeter. For a program that always has talent under Calipari, but rarely great experience, Travis seems to fill the gap quite well. That UK returns Washington, Richards and Quade Green means this will be one of Calipari's more experienced teams in Lexington, which isn't saying much itself but speaks to something real.

On top of that, Travis has a lot to play for and motivation shouldn't be difficult to find. He's got a one-year audition in Lexington before turning professional and Travis picked Kentucky because of the opportunity to improve and showcase.

Areas for Improvement and Things to Prove: Travis can become a better passer. He has never been the type to gain a lot of assists and that's why his A/T ratio has never been good. Then again, at Stanford he was part of a bigger lineup (which also featured 6'9 Michael Humphreys and 6'8 Oscar De Silva), so at Kentucky the floor will be more spread out and there should be better opportunities to pass, as well as better players to pass to.

Travis can knock down jump shots and he has demonstrated a willingness to attempt three-pointers when he's open or in rhythm, but improving and increasing the range on his shot is going to be very important, more for his future beyond Kentucky than for the Wildcats this year. Don't be surprised to see him taking more shots from outside the paint at least early in the season before the team settles down with more of an identity in February or March, as Calipari's teams tend to do.

In reality Travis' biggest weaknesses are probably more projected onto him or described in terms of his NBA potential. He's not exactly an above the rim player to quite the same level that some top draft prospects are, but that hasn't hurt his ability to perform at a high level in high-major college basketball so far.

Travis shot 67.5-percent from the free throw line and that's not bad for a big man but it can improve. The good news is it has consistently improved, from 46-percent to 48-percent then 65-percent as a junior. The big thing is regression should be avoided since he and Washington should be at the charity stripe a lot all season.

Anytime a player has been out for extended periods with an injury there are going to be durability questions but when Travis has been healthy he has had no trouble running the floor better than many big men, and he has logged plenty of mileage over four season on The Farm. Given Kentucky's excellent depth, Travis might not have to play as many minutes as over the past three seasons, either.

How He Can Help: In two of the last three college basketball seasons Kentucky has lacked a big post presence that can move opponents on the block and score consistently around the basket, at least at an elite level. Bam Adebayo was the exception two seasons ago. With Washington starting to develop into that player at the end of last year, and Travis - who makes a living by finishing around and through contact at the rim, and from different spots on the court - the Wildcats should have one of their better post games in recent memory.

With the length and skill in Kentucky's frontcourt and the athleticism in the backcourt, the Cats would have likely been one of the nation's best rebounding teams even without Travis. But the addition of Travis, who was one of the nation's best rebounders last year, should make Kentucky potentially overwhelming on the glass. The Cats' best offense might be to just put a shot up with a big man or two near the basket.

Calipari doesn't seem to be tapping the brakes on enthusiasm for Kentucky's 2018-19 team, and T.J. Beisner of CoachCal.com isn't serving as a wet blanket for all the Travis talk, writing, "Physically, he's a monster," then mentioning, "Travis then drove, took a hard foul on his left side, brought his right hand through with the ball and punched it through the rim on top of the staff member."

Travis was a beast in terms of finishing shot attempts that were followed by "And-1" free throw attempts and that probably illustrates well what he can bring. Beisner said the most encouraging sign was how Travis' intensity and physicality was matched by his teammates. That says something about his teammates, but it may also speak to their desire (and need) to match Travis, and how energy can be contagious.