IT OFF. 12 FOUR IS YOUR FINAL DILLON TRAVIS CHECKED OFF A BUCKET LIST ITEM YESTERDAY PLAYING IN AN EXHIBITION GAME IN FRONT OF 75,000 FANS AT THE MEN’S FINAL FOUR IN PHOENIX. THIS SUMMER. TRAVIS WILL CHECK OFF ANOTHER BUCKET LIST ITEM REPRESENTING THE UNITED STATES AT THE OLYMPICS. AND AS ANDY KENNEDY TELLS US, DILLON TRAVIS HAS ONE GOAL IN MIND. STILL DOESN’T FEEL REAL REALITY IS SETTING IN FOR DILLON. TRAVIS, WHO WILL PLAY FOR TEAM USA IN THE PARIS OLYMPICS THIS SUMMER AS PART OF THE FOUR MEMBER, 3X3 BASKETBALL TEAM. JUST BEING HERE FROM OMAHA AND SOUTH OMAHA AND TO BE IN THE OLYMPICS IN PARIS AND IT’S CRAZY. THE ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES, A LONG AND WINDING ONE FOR TRAVIS. HE WAS A STAR AT OMAHA GROSS BACK IN THE EARLY 20 TENS, AND AFTER A SURPRISING LACK OF RECRUITING INTEREST, HE WOULD PLAY FOR MIDLAND, THEN IOWA CENTRAL, THEN PLAY AT FLORIDA SOUTHERN BEFORE PLAYING PRO BALL OVERSEAS AND COVID HIT. TRAVIS RETURNED HOME TO TEACH FULL TIME AND COACH, BUT ALWAYS HAD BASKETBALL ON THE BRAIN AND THAT’S WHEN 3X3 CAME CALLING. MIKE CAME HERE AND MADE A TEAM, SO IT WAS ME AND. YOU KNOW MALIK. HELLO? CHOUAKI MITCH HAHN, SOME NAMES THAT YOU KNOW HERE LOCALLY. TREY BASELEY. SO IT WAS US FOUR JUST PLAYING KIND OF ON THE DOMESTIC RED BULL CIRCUIT AND KIND OF BROKE ON IN 2022 INTERNATIONALLY. AND THEN THAT’S HOW USA CAME CALLING FOR ME. AND NOW TRAVIS IS A TEAMMATE OF JIMMER FREDETTE, THAT FORMER BYU STAR AND NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR WHO HAPPENS TO BE ONE OF TRAVIS BASKETBALL IDOLS. I USED TO AT MY JUCO AT IOWA CENTRAL. I WOULD WATCH HIS CHINA HIGHLIGHTS BEFORE I’D PLAY, AND I’VE NEVER TOLD HIM THIS, SO HE’LL PROBABLY SEE THIS AT SOME POINT. BUT I USED TO WATCH THAT TO KIND OF GET ME GOING AND GET ME HYPED UP. AND OBVIOUSLY JIM ROMANIA, THAT WAS LIKE CURRY BEFORE CURRY. SO YEAH. AND NOW HE’S YOU KNOW MY MY ROOMMATE ON HALF THESE TRIPS AND YOU KNOW THE OTHER GUARD ON THE TEAM ME AND HIM. SO IT’S CRAZY WHEN TRAVIS HE AIN’T MESSING AROUND THE REAL DEAL TRAVIS BET ON HIMSELF FROM GROSS TO MIDLAND TO JUCO TO D2 TO THE PROS. AND NOW TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES. AND THAT MINDSET SET HAS SERVED HIM WELL ON HIS BASKETBALL JOURNEY. MY STORY OF BEING THE UNDERDOG, I FEEL LIKE MY WHOLE CAREER HAS FUELED ME TO LIKE, PROVE PEOPLE WRONG AND CONTINUE DOING WHAT I LOVE JUST BY, YOU KNOW, WORKING HARD AND DOING ALL THE LITTLE THINGS OTHER PEOPLE WON’T WANT TO DO IN A CITY WITH RICH BASKETBALL TRADITION, TRAVIS BECOMES JUST THE SECOND OMAHA NATIVE THAT WILL PLAY BASKETBALL FOR TEAM USA IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES, JOINING THE LEGENDARY BOB BOOZER AND THE FIRST PLAYER IN THE GROWING SPORT OF 3X3. OMAHA MEANS THE WORLD TO ME. IT’S WHERE I’M BORN AND RAISED, AND I FEEL LIKE IT KIND OF GAVE ME THAT BLUE COLLAR TOUGHNESS THAT I USE IN MY CAREER. AND SO IT’S GREAT TO REPRESENT OMAHA IN AND ESPECIALLY ON THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SPORTS IN THE OLYMPICS. AND WITH EIGHT TEAMS IN THE OLYMPIC FIELD, THE U.S., ALONG WITH WORLD CUP CHAMP SERBIA, ARE THE PRE-TOURNAMENT FAVORITES. GOLD MEDAL IS THE GOAL. YEAH, WE GOT TO GET THE GOLD. THE 30 YEAR OLD TRAVIS WOULD LIKE NOTHING MORE THAN TO BRING HOME THAT GOLD MEDAL BACK TO THE UNITED STATES, BACK TO OMAHA LATER THIS SUMMER.