Kentucky basketball signee Travis Perry was like the rest of us when Mark Pope reeled in his big fish last week in BYU star Jaxson Robinson. The first-year coach had already built a strong roster with plenty of experience and depth, then added the ultimate cherry on top by pulling away the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year from the NBA.
The KHSAA’s all-time leading scorer is just as giddy to play with him as Big Blue Nation is to watch him.
“It’s just really exciting, we felt like we already had so many pieces and then to add Jaxson to the roster?” Perry told KSR. “He’s seasoned, knows how to play the game, knows how to score and comes up in the big moments. That’s something I think is really exciting, I think Big Blue Nation will love him and the energy he plays with. It’s gonna be a lot of fun, I’m excited.”
It was the piece to tie everything together with not only the roster, but the last seven weeks in general. That coaching search felt like a lifetime ago, the sold-out press conference at Rupp Arena almost a fever dream. And Perry was there from the start, that spotlight shining on him in front of all of those fans with Pope calling him out by name.
In fact, he was a key part of the 1996 national champion’s message at the podium: Kentucky’s best in-state talent will be suiting up in blue and white as Wildcats. The shout-out was something the Lyon County star appreciated — even if it’s still a blur to him at this point.
“It was really neat. Sitting in a gym with 23,000 people and hearing your name called out, getting to stand up and get a round of applause from everybody, it’s really neat,” he said. “It’s kind of like an out-of-body experience, you don’t know what to do, don’t even know what you did at that time, really. You’re just kind of trying to soak it all in. It just shows the love Big Blue Nation has for guys who are committed to the program, that they want to be a part of it. They’re excited about it so we are too.”
From Rex Chapman to Richie Farmer to Reed Sheppard to Travis Perry and Trent Noah, finding guys who understand what it means to wear Kentucky across their chest will continue to be a priority under Pope. It’s why he held firm on his commitment when the rest of his original 2024 classmates jumped ship.
Once the new head coach met with him and talked through his plan for Perry in Lexington, he was confident it was something he wanted to be a part of.
“It’s Kentucky. When you dream playing at a school, especially like Big Blue Nation, it’s really hard to get away from that,” he told KSR. “Then also talking with Coach Pope, my mom getting to ask the important questions, my dad getting to ask the important questions, I got to ask the important questions, all of that stuff. Hearing the answers that are key pieces in it makes it so much easier. We were really excited about it.”
Since then, these seven weeks have been all over the place, an absolute whirlwind for everybody. He was there to see it on day one, and now, he’ll be moving in on June 6th, followed by freshman orientation on the 7th with classes starting on the 10th. Somewhere in the middle of that — later in the day on the 7th, to be exact — he’ll be playing in the Kentucky-Indiana High School All-Star Classic at Lexington Catholic. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET, his final outing representing Lyon County at this level.
Then poof, he’s in college, officially a Wildcat. That part is nerve-wracking, but he’s ready to take on the challenge with his new teammates.
“(The weeks since Pope was hired) have been pretty hectic, but it’s been fun with everything,” Perry said. “A new process is fun, getting excited about getting out there and getting to learn from the older guys, getting to play with the younger guys. It’s gonna be a lot of fun, I’m excited about it. … It’ll definitely be bizarre moving after living somewhere your whole life and then in a matter of a week you’ll be somewhere different for four years, hopefully.
“That’s definitely something big to think about, but it’s super exciting getting to live out a dream and a goal to compete with some of the best players in the country and playing for some of the best coaches in the country. I’m just going to do whatever I can to get better every day.”
Pope once said team-building was a “very artistic, organic process” and “like a living organism.” The Lyon County star has had to watch the roster rebuild from afar, seeing how each piece fit in with the next. Being one of the first additions, it was a process he just had to trust like the rest of us.
And he’ll be the first to tell you he’s pleased with the results.
“It’s definitely changed from whenever I reaffirmed my commitment — it’s almost like Jenga. One piece falls and everything else kind of falls into place,” Perry said. “It’s been really fun to see all of the guys we’re getting, the guys we’re going after. I’m really excited about the pieces we’ve got coming in, the individuals we have more than just basketball players. I think we have really good people, so I’m really excited about getting to work with all of that.”
Where does he fit into the mix, though? It’s a group with seven super seniors, two other transfers with high-major experience and three freshmen, Perry falling into the latter category. The coaching staff has cut up film highlighting his strengths and weaknesses, going through them all together in sit-down meetings, “blunt and transparent with it,” as the four-star guard would describe their conversations.
That was part of the intrigue for him, seeing the vision and making sure they were all on the same page.
“That makes it really exciting to get out there, get to play in the system and get to learn the system, learn the people, just everything about it,” he told KSR. “(They say I will be incorporated with) the skilled guard part of it. Playing fast is the way I’ve played my whole life. Playing fast, playing uptempo, shooting a lot of threes a game, and then just playing hard on defense. His system really favors guys like me on defense. We can figure out ways to jump passing lanes, do stuff like that, almost like a Reed (Sheppard)-like mentality and be the smarter guy on defense. You kind of use your strengths to your advantage on the defensive end.”
The main thing they’re on the same page on? Title aspirations. That’s how he approached every game at Lyon County and he’ll be doing the same at Kentucky.
Perry is glad his new head coach shares those same dreams.
“Breaking it down on a smaller scale, it’s the same mentality we had in high school. If you don’t win a state championship, it’s a disappointing season,” he said. “That’s kind of always been the goal, to win at the highest level. And that goal has not changed, so that’s really exciting.”
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