By Joseph Staszewski
Travis Atson will be starting over again as he comes to the finish of his college recruitment.
The Greenpoint native and former Christ the King wing transferred to South Kent (Conn.) after a stellar junior season in Middle Village, reclassifying as a member of the Class of 2016. With the tuition rate doubling at South Kent for a postgraduate student, he chose to find a new home at which to play his final season before heading off to college next fall.
Atson, who plans to commit to a college in October, will play at Notre Dame Prep (Mass.) for the coming year. He believes the time away from home will further prepare him for college life while he decides where he will spend the next four years.
“It gives me a better feel for being away from home and going to college,” Atson said.
He took an official visit to UC Santa Barbara last week and heads to Tulsa on Sept. 18. Atson also plans on visiting DePaul. He is coming off a strong travelball summer with the PSA Cardinals, one of the top teams on the Nike EYBL Circuit.
He was named to the All-Peach Jam third team in July after averaging 15.3 points per game and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field. He has consistently put up 20 points per contest at local tournaments such as the Tri-State Classic and Dyckman. Atson said he is more versatile now that he has more confidence in his ability to score from the outside.
“My all-around game has gotten a lot better,” Atson said. ‘I am not one-dimensional anymore.”
There is still room for improvement with one more season to go before he heads off to college. Atson believes he is a better defender than he was a year ago, but knows his skills on the perimeter still need to advance. He wants to be a better ball handler and become a more consistent shooter.
“I can still get better at everything, especially my ball handling,” Atson said.
Esteemed basketball talent evaluator Tom Konchalski said Aston would have no problem playing at Santa Barbara, DePaul or Tulsa. He has seen him get better, but wants him to improve his lateral movement to increase his ability to defend quicker players on the perimeter. Adding to Aston’s own guard skills can also make him harder to defend against.
“He has to get better putting the ball to the floor and creating his own offense, but he is a good player” Konchalski said.
Atson is set to take on the challenge of further getting himself ready to head to college, a reality that is quickly approaching.
“It feels weird,” Atson said. “I never thought it would be here and it is here now so I’m excited.”
