Men’s basketball redshirt junior point guard Travis King confirmed Wednesday he will be attending the University of Maryland-Baltimore County next year, beginning work on his master’s degree in sociology and playing out his final year of eligibility on the UMBC basketball team.

King, who will be graduating in May, missed nearly all of what would have been his sophomore season in 2007-08 when he fractured his right patella playing basketball at home in Connecticut. He will retain one more year of athletic eligibility after being granted a medical hardship waiver by the NCAA as a result of his injury.

King averaged 2.8 points and 11.3 minutes per game this season, down from his 2008-09 averages of 6.2 points and 24.1 minutes per game. He said that while he did consider returning to GW to begin pursuing his master’s and play out his final season, he ultimately decided that making the move to UMBC was what was best for him.

“I thought it was a great opportunity that I wanted to explore,” King said. “I think it’s a good fit academically as well.”

GW has played the Retrievers each of the last three seasons, going 2-1 against them, including a 94-51 GW win Nov. 21 at the Smith Center. King scored eight points in the game in 16 minutes of action against his future team.

Although next year’s schedule has yet to be announced, King said he wasn’t bothered by the prospect of facing off against his former team.

“It definitely crossed my mind, but at the same time it didn’t really affect my decision to go there,” King said.

“It should be a fun game,” he added. “I definitely got great love for GW. I spent four years out of my life here.”