SHREVEPORT, La. - Travion Kirkendoll of the Gents basketball team withdrew his name from the NBA Draft and will return to Centenary for his junior season, announced head coach Adam Walsh on Tuesday, May 24.
After the decision, Coach Walsh released the following statement:
"After helpful discussions with multiple representatives, Travion has made the decision to continue playing in college and work to better himself and his game. Yes, this was a serious process. We simply took advantage of the new policies and were able to glean great insight from the experience. Travion and I have found the process to be helpful and a good learning experience all the way around. Travion is a fighter and a learner and will continue to chase his dreams. Thank you."
Kirkendoll is coming off a successful sophomore season where he was named First Team All-Conference by the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Kirkendoll and junior teammate James Sapp both made First Team All-Conference for the second consecutive season.
Other accolades for Kirkendoll include being named Second Team All-Region by D3Hoops.com and Second Team All-State Men's Basketball from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA).
With Kirkendoll's LSWA honor, a Gent has received either First, Second or Third Team LSWA accolades in each of the past five seasons, a claim only four other institutions in the Pelican State (Louisiana-Lafayette, LSU, Louisiana Tech and Northwestern State) can make.
Kirkendoll led the SCAC with 19.6 points and 2.04 steals per game. He also finished fourth in the conference with 7.6 rebounds, finishing 68th and 67th in the country in those categories, respectively.
In conference play, Kirkendoll finished second in rebounding (behind teammate Sapp) with 8.5 boards per game. In the final contest of his sophomore season, he registered a career high eight assists and added 14 points and nine boards to finish just shy of a triple-double.
Kirkendoll started the season with 16-straight games with double-digits points. He scored 11+ points in 25-of-27 contests, including 20+ in 15 contests. He easily led all guards in the SCAC with six double-doubles, including back-to-back games with 17 points and 11 boards against Austin College February 5 and Dallas February 7.
He scored a career-best 28 points in a comeback win against UT Dallas December 20.
