Maybe Joe Paterno should get Ed DeChellis to do his recruiting for him.
The Penn State basketball coach secured another key commitment this week when 6'7" Minnesota forward Ross Travis verbaled to the Nittany Lions on Sunday morning. Travis is a huge addition for Penn State's depth at small forward, and with his size in the fold, the 2011 roster looks a lot more whole.
If you're a star gazer, assessments of Travis are all over the place. Rivals gives him three stars, but Scout gives him none. ESPN also gives him three stars with a Scout's grade of 91. Their assessment of his strengths?
Travis is an athletic versatile player who can play several positions on the floor. He has made big strides in his ballhandling and his mid-range shot has shown improvement. He has long arms and can defend multiple positions on the court. Travis has excellent court vision and is a good passer.
Unfortunately, ESPN also notes an injury history and a lacking outside game, something not necessary, but nice to have in a three forward. More after the jump.
Here's a highlight video.
Travis talked about his recruiting trip to Penn State as a big part of his commitment with BWI.
I felt like Penn State had all of the things that I needed to get to the level that I dream of being at. I got a chance to watch the players practice and scrimmage and stuff like that. I was really pleased with everybody, how they played. I was impressed with the guards and how they put the team first and get the team going before they really get going so, they distribute the ball really well, which is really important at the forward position knowing that your guards can get the ball up the floor and get you the ball when you need to have it in your hands. So overall, I just think it was a better fit.
He also talked about his game a little.
I'd like to say that I'm not great at one thing but I'm good at a lot of things. My athleticism, I can jump, I'm working on my shooting right now because I believe at the Big Ten level, you've gotta be able to shoot, no matter what position you're at. Especially with my versatility, I can give myself multiple ways to score so, it's harder to defend me and stuff like that.
So there's Travis in his own words. According to Rivals, the forward had offers from Illinois State, Iowa State, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Oregon State, Rice and Santa Clara.
With all the players that Penn State is losing at forward following 2010-2011, Travis's addition is a big deal regardless of how he is rated. The fact that two of the three major recruiting agencies seem to like him is icing on the cake. He should fit in very nicely at David Jackson's three spot right off the bat, which should tell you a lot about just how badly he was needed as part of this class.
Overall, it's probably safe to say this is one of Ed DeChellis's bigger recruiting gets of the last couple of years and it should be interesting to see what he can do on campus.