Melbourne's Shooting Star Putting in Off-Season Work

After representing Cleveland in the NBA Summer League ahead of NBL23, Luke Travers returned to Australia almost a changed player.

The confidence gained through summer workouts in the US, successfully being drafted, and plying his trade in front of a raft of NBA scouts and coaches in Las Vegas saw him come back to Australia and kick things up a notch.

While the colours he’s set to wear in NBL24 are different, Travers is once again over in California working on his game, and after his impressive improvement last season – largely in his shooting – he’s expecting a similar uptick in output ahead of the new campaign.

“The jumpshot is coming a lot better with another year over here,” Travers said on The Huddle. “Even just little things like fadeaways, getting to the post and using my size – that’s definitely going to be stuff that helps in Summer League, but also in the NBL.

“A lot of it, and I’ve said this to multiple people, it was a whole mentality switch and becoming confident, getting those reps up over here [and] just shooting a bunch.

“We were narrowing down little things like getting down in my stance, playing a little bit lower with everything, but seeing the ball go through the rim a lot more gives you that confidence so when you’re open your shooting it and it’s the same thing every time.

“It’s been a lot more of that this year as well and I’m hoping to continue to shoot at those high percentages even if it’s a little bit higher volume.”

Travers hasn't been alone in the US. 

Plenty of Australian talent has filtered through high profile coach Jordan Lawley’s facility where Travers is under the watchful eye of Tony Vasaturo, including a former NBL Next Star and current draft hopeful.

“Dyson (Daniels) has been out a little bit here on the weekends just going back and forth a little bit between New Orleans,” Travers said. “Josh (Giddey) just went back to Australia, so he was out here a little bit too.

“I’m living with Mojave King at the moment so he’s been doing his draft workouts at the moment, so when he’s back in town he’s with us.

“I think he’s in a similar boat to what I was in last year/ It’s all up in the air and you don’t know until draft day.

“I know his workouts have been going well, he’s been smashing it out and he’s done quite a few.

“I know he’s looking forward to it but he’s definitely anxious at the same time.”