It's really doubtful that Travis would've been able to get into Duke, not only education/smarts wise, but basketball talent wise. It's not exactly the easiest basketball program to make. They kind of have high standards.
Cherokee wasn't lacking in NBA skills, he was lacking in sanity. Actually, jk. He was just a little strange, but I don't know if NBA was his main goal in life.
Cherokee might have been "strange" in college, but he passed over into crazy once he got to the NBA... He was Birdman before Birdman was Birdman.