Travis Releford hits game-winning 3, earns MVP honors at KU’s Roundball Classic
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- Releford hit a buzzer-beating 3 that was a 4-point money ball.
- Releford scored 12 points and won the MVP at the 18th Rock Chalk Roundball Classic.
- Brandon Rush led the Red team with 25 points and made seven 3-pointers.
A standout player at Bishop Miege High School, the University of Kansas, NBA G League and overseas, 36-year-old Travis Releford believes he accomplished a first in his stellar basketball career Thursday night at Free State High School.
That would be connecting on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to propel his team to victory.
The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Kansas City native drilled a 4-point money ball shot from beyond the 3-point stripe with a fraction of a second left on the clock, erasing a 108-106 deficit and lifting his Blue team to a 110-108 victory over the Red squad at the 18th Rock Chalk Roundball Classic KU alumni game in the Firebirds’ sold-out gymnasium.
“I don’t know what to think,” Releford said, as he held the MVP trophy. “I knew we had to go get a shot up. I couldn’t remember how much we were down, but I ended up putting it up in time, and it went in.”
Releford could have raced in untouched and dunked the basketball and it would have also been good enough for the win, considering dunks were worth three points and 3s four in the final two minutes.
“That’s a great question (as to why he didn’t dunk). I don’t think I had enough time, to be honest,” Releford said of pulling up from 3-point range instead of slamming. “I think I caught it, and I saw two seconds were on the clock and I had to let it fly.”
Releford, who couldn’t recall ever converting such a dramatic shot before, scored 12 points for the Blue team, which was coached by Ochai Agbaji of the Brooklyn Nets.
Zeke Mayo led the Blues with 25 points, while Svi Mykhailiuk and Mitch Lightfoot had 19 apiece. Christian Braun of the Denver Nuggets coached the Red squad.
Releford, who started at KU in 2008-09, redshirted a year, then played three additional seasons from 2011 to 2013, is a regular participant at the Rock Chalk Roundball Classic, a charity fundraiser for area families battling cancer. KU radio announcer Brian Hanni annually holds both the game and a banquet to raise funds for the cause.
“I look forward to this every year,” said Releford, who has worked in medical device sales the past six years in Iowa. “I’ve been playing in this, I don’t know, 10-plus years now, and I’m going to continue to keep coming out and doing what I can to help.”
Starting this fall, Releford will also begin his first coaching assignment. He’s been hired as an assistant coach at Centennial High School in Ankeny, Iowa.
“My ultimate goal is to get to the college level,” Releford said of coaching.
Releford’s Blue squad teammate, Russell Robinson, mobbed Releford after the made bucket. So did the other members of the Blue team.
“Trav was ready,” Robinson said. “At practice he said he was coming out to play. He showed out today.”
Hearing it was Releford’s first buzzer-beater, Robinson, a starter on KU’s 2008 NCAA title team, said: “That’s a great time to have it at a great event. It was amazing. Blue team won. Everybody won here. Great start to the weekend.”
Robinson lives in Raleigh, North Carolina and is finishing work on a doctorate degree.
“Couple more months you’ll be able to call me Dr. Robinson,” he said with a smile after playing in the game and scoring three points.
Along with Releford, another Kansas City native had a stellar performance Thursday night. Former KU and NBA standout Brandon Rush scored 25 points for the Red team. He had 22 points in the first half.
Silvio DeSousa scored 18 points, Mario Chalmers 16 and Sasha Kaun 12 for the Reds.
“You saw that guy. He can still get out there and do it at the highest level. It’s good to share a court with him,” Releford said of the 40-year-old Rush, who played at KU from 2006-08 and then embarked on a nine-year NBA career.
Rush at one point drilled six straight 3s. In all, he made seven 3-pointers. At one point, in one of the game’s lighter moments, he suddenly missed seven 3s in a row on one possession. He kept getting fed the ball in the corner, where he’d misfire.
“I was hot. I got a little hot out there,” Rush said with a smile. “I love coming back here. I just love seeing people, love seeing the fans, and it’s for a good cause.”
Rush credited Releford for knocking down the game-winner.
“I was this close to blocking that shot,” Rush said of the 3. “Good job by Travis. They won it. I was on defense there, which is crazy.”
Scroll down past the box score for more great courtside images from KC Star photographer Dominick Williams.
Roundball Classic 2026: Blue Team 110, Red Team 108
BLUE TEAM (110): Zeke Mayo 25 points, Svi Mykhailiuk 19, Mitch Lightfoot 19, Travis Releford 12, Kylie Kopatich 9, Sherron Collins 9, Tyrel Reed 8, Jeff Hawkins 5, Russell Robinson 3. Random person from stands 1.
RED TEAM (108): Brandon Rush 25, Silvio DeSousa 18, Mario Chalmers 16, Sasha Kaun 12, Elijah Johnson 9, Kevin Young 9, Jalen Wilson 7, Jared Casey 5, Parker Braun 4, Gee Ngala 3.
This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 11:25 PM.
