Next winter the boys basketball team will be missing one of their starters. A key player on the team, junior Travis Jorgensen has decided to transfer to the New Hampton School, a private secondary day and boarding school in New Hampton, N.H.
Earlier last fall, Jorgenson has made an oral commitment to play for the University of Missouri when he graduates from high school. He decided to transfer to improve as a basketball player and has been considering it since the end of last season.
“It’s just a good opportunity to go out there and get better as a basketball player and a student,” Jorgenson said. The team is “going to have a good year next year for sure, and I’ll miss them a lot.”
Jorgenson visited New Hampton School over spring break. He said he liked the school, coach and players, which made his decision definitive. The school has provided him with a scholarship.
“It’s something he always wanted to do, so we support him. We hate to lose him, but we wish him the best of luck,” boys basketball coach Jim Scanlon said. The team “will be all right. It’ll hurt losing him, but it gives somebody else a great opportunity to play, and we have plenty of time to put the pieces together, so we’ll be OK.”
Jorgenson was instrumental in boys basketball making it to the elite eight this season. The team will miss his presence next year, but looks forward to coming out as strong as before, sophomore teammate Jackson Dubinski said.
“We all were upset about him leaving, and we definitely hate to see him go,” Dubinski said. “It’s obviously going to change our team up a little bit, but we’ll find a way like we always do and when the season rolls around we’ll be ready.”
By Walter Wang
additional reporting by Jackie Nichols