by Arielle Andres
| Travis Gabbidon |
Senior Travis Gabbidon has been one of UTSA’s most consistent scorers and rebounders in his two seasons in the Alamo City. A JUCO All-American at College of Southern Idaho, the Phoenix, Ariz., native joined head coach Brooks Thompson’s program prior to the 2006-07 season. After sitting out that year with a foot injury, Gabbidon has played in 42 career games with the Roadrunners the past two seasons. Gabbidon, a two-time Southland Conference Player of the Week this year, is averaging12.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and has helped UTSA to its best overall (17-11) and league (8-7) record in four years. As he gets ready for his final game as a Roadrunner at the Convocation Center on Saturday night against Stephen F. Austin, Gabbidon recently took time out of his schedule to visit with goUTSA.com about how he ended up at UTSA, what the home crowd means to him and his career plans.
Who do you model your style of play after?
“I don’t really try to play like anyone, but I’d say my favorite player to look at and see new moves from is Carmelo Anthony. Growing up, I have an older brother that helped me develop my own style.”
Was basketball the first sport that you ever wanted to play, or did you play multiple sports?
“Basketball is my first love, but I played eight years of football, as well. I stopped my sophomore year of high school to devote all of my time to basketball.”
When did you start playing basketball?
“Shoot, I can’t even remember. I know I started playing travel ball in the third grade.”
You are from Phoenix, Ariz., and played in Idaho. What made you finally decide to sign with UTSA?
“After I left my junior college in Idaho, I actually signed with Mississippi State. That didn’t work out and I had built a prior relationship with Coach Thompson when I was growing up in Arizona. I got released late in August and I came and spoke with Coach Thompson. He said he had a scholarship left. I felt it was a great coaching staff here and I decided to come to UTSA.”
How does your family follow your career?
“All of my family is back in Arizona, and my dad travels a lot with his job. They keep up with me by listening to the games on the Internet or the radio broadcast and by checking out the Web site for stories and statistics.”
When you get a breakaway steal, slam it in and the crowd goes crazy, how does that make you feel?
“It is just pure excitement for me to be able to get the crowd into the game. It means a lot for us players to have support from the crowd. We like to impress them.”
How do you get back on track when things aren’t going your way and you can feel yourself getting frustrated?
“That’s when I have to take a step back and just focus. I have to think about what isn’t working and what can work. Then just go forward and continue to play.”
What areas do you feel you need to improve on?
“I need to be more consistent on defense. I can have several spurts, but I need to be more consistent through all 40 minutes.”
You have broken your foot three times. How do you battle through your injuries and what makes you want to step back on the court?
“Basketball is my first love, so I’m not going to let an injury stop me from doing what I love. I feel that everything happens for a reason, so after I broke it the third time I knew I just had to come back stronger.”
As a senior and an American Studies major, what do you plan on doing after you walk?
“I would like to play basketball for as long as I can. After basketball, I would love to get into coaching at the college level.”
What do you and your teammates do for fun and who on the team makes you laugh the most?
“We really just joke around and clown on each other. Chris Allen makes me laugh the most. He is a pretty funny guy.”