By Joseph Staszewski
Travis Atson opted for a change of scenery.
The forward will head to South Kent, a Connecticut boarding school, after helping Christ the King win a second-straight state Federation Class AA boys’ basketball title as a junior last season.
Atson, the reigning CHSAA most valuable player of the playoffs, will reclassify to the class of 2016 and look to raise his already solid grades and college recruitment stock.
He thinks he will benefit from extra time just as fellow former Queens hops players Russ Smith, Chris Ortiz and Maurice Harkless did in the past at South Kent.
“With a whole other year to get better basketball-wise, that means I can make a lot of improvement,” Atson said.
He said leaving Christ the King was a tough decision, one that took him months to make. He ultimately was looking for more time to get his scholarship offers into the high Division I level. South Kent’s small class size, as little as 10 students per class, will help him raise his grades from the high 80s to the high 90s, he believes.
Atson has offers from St. Bonaventure, Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac, UC Santa Barbara, UT Arlington and Fairfield and interest from Fordham, Albany and Boston University.
“I was watching a lot of the videos of top-ranked players and how good they are and how much more I need to work,” Atson said. “I feel the extra year will do that for me.”
Atson, who is playing his summer ball with the Brooklyn-based Juice All-Stars, had a breakout season for the Royals last year after a torn ACL as a freshman left him limited as a sophomore.
The All-Queens first team selection by TimesLedger Newspapers averaged 16.8 points per game during his junior campaign and was also the MVP of the prestigious Stop-DWI tournament in Binghamton. And Atson also got everyone’s attention with 20 points and 10 rebounds to help CK beat Bishop Loughlin in the city title game.
The Royals, if Atson had returned along with fellow star Rawle Alkins, were the heavy favorites to win another city crown next year. But Atson knows he will have a quieter existence at South Kent.
“This year people weren’t expecting us to win it again,” he said. “Now next year people were definitely expecting us to win it again. It kind of takes a load off my shoulders to know that I don’t have to live up to expectations even though I think we could have done it again.”
Christ the King Coach Joe Arbitello said Atson did not surprise him by choosing to leave since he had considered transferring after earlier seasons. He said Atson has more scholarship offers than current Fordham guard Jon Severe did at this point in his career. And the July college coaches’ viewing period has not begun yet.
Still Arbitello said he respects Atson’s decision.
“He has a mother, he has a father taking care of him and having his best interest at heart,” Arbitello said. “Whatever they try to do, they are doing for their son, and he’s doing for himself. It’s not up to me to judge that.”
Losing a player of Atson’s caliber is never easy, but Arbitello is confident the Royals’ roster is still chock full of players who can continue the program’s high level of success.
“I wish him the best of luck,” Arbitello said. “As far as Christ the King is concerned, we are not without talent. We will be just fine.”
