Logically, Dylan Travis shouldn’t be sporting Group USA throughout his basketball jersey this summer season in Paris.
Then once more, this 31-year-old particular schooling trainer’s basketball profession defies logic.
The Omaha, Nebraska, native led his house state in scoring his senior yr of highschool however had no Division I provides. He dedicated to Midland College, a Nationwide Affiliation of Intercollegiate Athletics college in Fremont, Nebraska.
“Being all-state popping out of highschool, (I) was humbled my first yr at an NAIA college,” the 6-foot-3 guard mentioned. “I did not have my head on straight, type of getting in bother and stuff, speaking again to coaches.”
After a yr at Midland, he transferred to Iowa Central Group School. He knew if he discovered success there, it might set him as much as play Division I basketball.
“I needed to mature so much going into Iowa Central,” Travis mentioned. “Coach (Dennis) Pilcher, Corridor of Fame coach on the juco stage, actually helped me. That type of formed me to the place I am at now.”
His success at Iowa Central, the place he averaged 18.3 factors per recreation, led him to decide to Florida Southern, a Division II college.
There, Travis thrived. In his junior yr, the Moccasins received the Division II nationwide championship. After that season, his long-awaited Division I provide got here alongside.
“By that point, I used to be over it. I stayed at Florida Southern and was an All-American my senior yr,” Travis mentioned. “Florida Southern was nice, particularly in any case these stops. It felt like heaven there.
“Be a great teammate, be a great individual off the court docket, regardless of the place you are at on the earth, that basically issues. I realized that so much at Florida Southern.”
After commencement, Travis performed abroad in Germany and Australia. After 4 years, he determined to place the basketball down, as a substitute pursuing a profession in schooling.
Travis remained concerned in basketball by teaching his highschool’s group. It by no means occurred to him to play competitively once more till his good friend beneficial enjoying in Omaha’s 3×3 match circuit.
Travis fell in love with the 3×3 recreation, beginning with the group 3Ball Omaha and persevering with to play over 150 video games on the professional circuit. Ultimately, he met his future teammates, Jimmer Fredette, Kareem Maddox and Canyon Barry, on the circuit. Later, the quartet acquired picked up by USA Basketball.
In November, the group ranked second on the earth and earned an Olympic bid to symbolize the pink, white and blue.
The squad boasts a powerful resume, together with gold medals on the 2022 FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup and the 2023 Pan American Video games, plus a silver medal on the 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup.
With all his success on the court docket, Travis most relishes the truth that his mother will likely be in Paris watching him play.
“It is simply me and my mother rising up. She labored three jobs so I might go to a non-public highschool,” he mentioned. “She’s by no means been outdoors of the States, so to see her (in Paris) will imply so much to me.”
As Travis heads to the Olympics, he feels assured along with his squad.
“We are the first (U.S. males’s) group that is been chosen for the Olympics, so there’s some stress and a few expectations to win gold and develop the game,” he mentioned. “We’re veterans, and we will have that on our shoulders. So we’re trying ahead to that problem.”
Reflecting on his profession, Travis appreciates his roller-coaster journey.
“I am simply the no-name that made it,” he mentioned.
“I am a Division II man and acquired to journey the world enjoying 3×3. Now I am within the Olympics,” he added. “For those who love the sport, keep it up.”
