TRAVIS CHARLES BACK HEALTHY FOR UALBANY
Great Danes forward powered through heart condition to return to court
ALBANY >> While his teammates battled to a 24-8 record, University at Albany forward Travis Charles wondered if he’d ever see the basketball court again.
The junior-college transfer from Howard College played just nine games for the Great Danes last season, suffering from acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the pericardium of the heart, there was a strong possibility the Charles, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound power forward may never play Division-I basketball again.
“It feels really good to be back on the court,” Charles said after last Monday’s practice. “I know it sounds crazy, but I get excited for practice now. Last season, watching my team go to war and me being just helpless, I hated it. Now, I’m trying to take advantage of every day.”
Charles was one of the key figures the UAlbany head coach Will Brown praised last season as being able to provide solid scoring at the forward position last season. Charles, arguably, had the best mid-range game of any Great Danes big man on the roster. Through nine games, he reached double digits in scoring three times. His career-high was 16 points in a win over Yale. Charles also shot 58.3 percent from the
field in limited action.
“Many times I kept myself up at night thinking about (not playing again),” Charles said. “It’s hard when you’re on the inside to look outside and see how things are going. I told myself when you think positive that positive things are going to come.”
However, the 2016-2017 season look promising for the Brooklyn native.
While Charles re-acclimates to the conditioning of a Division-I basketball season, Brown expects Charles to be a big part of the team once he’s back up to speed. “Just having him healthy is great,” Brown said. “It’s scary. He had to go through it. From my end, as a coach, (I was) obviously
concerned. Once we can get him back into the flow of things, I think he has the chance to really help us.”
Returners Greg Stire and Mike Rowley will anchor the inside for the Great Danes, while Charles will provide reliable minutes off the bench with the departure of Richard Peters for Cal State Fullerton.
“We might not have the same size, but we’re just working hard on offense and defense,” Charles said. “We’re just competing every day.”
When the Great Danes open their 2016-2017 slate at Penn State on Nov. 11, it’ll be Charles’ first time playing since Dec. 5, 2015 when UAlbany topped Holy Cross in overtime.
UAlbany was picked to finish third in the America East preseason poll, behind Vermont and New Hampshire.