Wake Forest Athletics
Gold Rush Feature: Stat Stuffer
12/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 26, 2010
This article was originally published in the Dec. 18 edition of Gold Rush.
By Jay Reddick
One semester into his college career, Travis McKie seems to be giving Wake Forest exactly what it needs.
At 6-foot-7, he provides a menacing presence in the post but has the wing skills to keep opponents honest. His quick hands are a boon to the defense, and his ability to cut to the basket and elevate excites the Joel Coliseum crowd.
But more than anything, on a team with five mercurial freshmen, he has shown consistency beyond his years.
In the Deacons' first eight games, he scored in double figures a team-best seven times, averaging 13 points per game overall. He was the team's leading scorer in four of five victories. He led Wake Forest in rebounds and steals.
Like most top-level recruits, McKie was a superstar in high school, one of the top 60 in the country, with the gaudy numbers to match. But McKie takes pride in doing the dirty work, the stuff that doesn't show up in the scoring column.
"I just play basketball, I'm not worried about the stats," McKie said. "If I get a shot, I'll take it; if not, we have great shooters on this team. I'll rebound, take the weak side, steal the ball, whatever I have to do. That's just my game."
The Richmond, Va., native's early play has drawn raves from Coach Jeff Bzdelik, among others.
"Travis is one of those throwback players," Bzdelik said after a victory over Holy Cross on Dec. 4. "When the smoke clears at the end of the game, he's filled up that stat sheet. He's so efficient. ... He does a lot of things that we're starting to take for granted, but are so important as far as winning."
McKie's background shows a commitment to excellence. As an eighth-grader, he applied for admission to Richmond Community High School, an exclusive college-prep magnet school that "identifies and educates potentially gifted students of above average ability and creativity," according to the school's website.
The choice had nothing to do with basketball -- in fact, the school has no basketball team. McKie played for his district's public school, John Marshall High. He said going to school away from his teammates wasn't much of a burden.
"I lived in the area, and I knew the people," McKie said. "I didn't have to go to school with them to feel that bond -- I was with them every day after school anyway."
Of course, even as McKie made that academic choice as a youngster, sports weren't far from his mind -- his entrance essay, about what he wanted to do when he grew up, was about the NBA.
The area McKie showed his true potential during his school years was in AAU ball, where he played in the prestigious Boo Williams Summer League. His teammates there included current UNC freshman Kendall Marshall and Duke sophomore Andre Dawkins. McKie still talks regularly to both of them and plans to show no mercy when they face off on ACC courts this winter.
Beyond the personal battles, McKie's even more ready to carry the Deacons to some conference victories.
"I'm not worried," he said. "This is a young team. Nobody's been in the trenches before. But the more games we play, the more poised we will be."
Travis McKie
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Richmond, Va.
Position: Forward
Favorite class: "English, or computer science. Computer science is hard, but it interests me. It challenges me more than anything."
Earliest basketball memory: "When I was 2, I was watching Jordan, Pippen and the Bulls run through the league, then going outside imitating Jordan with my tongue hung out. As far back as I can remember, I was playing basketball."
