Travis Perry, still a Kentucky signee, talks about his potential UK future with Mark Pop
cameron drummondBreaking news:Travis Perry signee,Extension contract of $260 for 6 years ahead UK future with Mark Pope
Travis Perry, still a Kentucky signee, talks about his potential UK future with Mark Pop
cameron drummon
Among the thousands of people that packed into every corner of Rupp Arena on Sunday afternoon for an event and press conference introducing new UK basketball head coach Mark Pope, one spectator stood out in importance.
Class of 2024 UK men’s basketball signee Travis Perry (along with his father Ryan) attended the event decked out in Kentucky gear.
Travis, the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky boys high school basketball history with 5,481 career points at Lyon County High School, was one of six players in the 2024 recruiting class who committed to the Wildcats under former head coach John Calipari.
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Of that group, Perry was one of four players who signed a national letter of intent to come to Lexington.
Following Calipari’s departure last week to become the new head coach at Arkansas, that recruiting class has fallen apart: Signees Somto Cyril and Jayden Quaintance (both centers) and verbal commit Karter Knox (a small forward) have all decommitted.
Guard Boogie Fland (signee) and small forward Billy Richmond (verbal commit) have yet to publicly comment on their status.
While Perry isn’t setting anything in stone, momentum is growing toward Perry sticking with his initial commitment and playing at Kentucky.
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Perry acknowledged to reporters Sunday that he remains a Kentucky signee, although it was clear that he plans to have several meetings with Pope before determining his college plans.
“As of right now, I’m still signed. Obviously (I) haven’t gotten to really sit down with Coach Pope, but that’s something I want to do in the future,” Travis said. “… Hopefully get up here again sometime in the future and get to have a conversation with him. Kind of see where things go from there.”
Perry — who has already had several video calls with Pope — said he doesn’t want to establish a timeline for when he determines where he will be playing college basketball next season.
“Just kind of take it as it goes, I get to have the conversations with (Pope) that are important,” Perry said. “We get to sit down with him, just kind of see what the plan is, see what he’s thinking and then we’ll decide what we’re thinking.”
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Ryan Perry — Travis’ father and his high school coach at Lyon County, a tandem that culminated in a Sweet 16 state championship for the Lyons in March — said his son has “loved everything he’s heard so far” from Pope.
“Energetic, positive, everything’s been great so far,” Ryan told the Herald-Leader. “I know we’ve got some time this week when (Travis) is going to sit down with (Pope), but I mean … we love everything about Coach Pope so far. We think it’s trending in the right direction. It feels really good.”
“You can’t really replicate the excitement that he has, the love he has for Big Blue Nation,” Travis Perry added about Pope. “… The energy that he’s bringing, obviously, (he) has 23,000 people on their feet today. So it’s pretty incredible to see.”
When responding to a question from the media about his philosophy when it comes to in-state recruiting, Pope shouted out several past players who stayed home and thrived on the floor with the Wildcats.
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Richie Farmer (Clay County) and Reed Sheppard (North Laurel) were the first names spoken.
The next name? That of Perry, who stood up and received a standing ovation from the Kentucky fans.
“There is a good chance (Perry) will not jump into the portal, guys. But before Richie and after Travis and everybody in between that is an in-state Kentucky kid, these young men that grow up in Kentucky, they bring a spirit to the team that cannot be fabricated or replaced,” Pope said. “And it helps us to win, and we will continue to recruit them.”
