Kentucky’s Reid Travis begins pursuit of ‘ultimate goal’ with pro team in Germany

Former University of Kentucky basketball player Reid Travis, who was not selected in the 2019 NBA Draft this summer, will launch his professional career in Germany.

The 6-foot-8 forward from Minneapolis has signed with Medi Bayreuth of the Basketball Bundesliga, the highest level of pro basketball in Germany.

Medi is the team’s sponsor. Bayreuth is the location of the franchise, north of Nuremberg in the east-central part of Germany. Travis will play in the same league as former Wildcat Derek Willis, who recently signed with Ratiopharm Ulm.

“It’s his path to his ultimate goal!” Kentucky Coach John Calipari tweeted Monday. “We have other players who follow that path and succeeded. He’s prepared so I will follow him closely. I truly enjoyed coaching him and watching his growth even as an established player!”

Travis joins a Bayreuth roster still forming for the 2019-20 Bundesliga season, which runs from late September through the end of May. Bayreuth players signed so far, according to RealGM.com, include guards James Robinson (Pittsburgh), Bryce Alford (UCLA) and James Woodard (Tulsa) and forward Evan Bruinsma (Detroit Mercy), all of whom played college basketball in America.

Travis played one season at Kentucky as a graduate transfer in 2018-19, helping lead the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight.

Travis averaged 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for UK, one season after averaging 19.5 and 8.7 at Stanford.

Travis played for the Atlanta Hawks in the recently completed NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 4.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in five appearances, averaging 12.5 minutes per game.

This story was originally published July 22, 2019 at 1:43 PM.