'I feel like I could cry happy tears.' Travis Perry ends historic high school career with state title

Travis Perry will go down as one the best high school players to ever play basketball in the state of Kentucky — if not the best. He’s scored more points than any player in the history of Kentucky boy’s basketball (5,481), has won both Mr. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year (twice), and will suit up to play for the home-state Wildcats next season.

You couldn’t draw it up more perfectly for a kid raised in the Bluegrass.

But one thing was missing from his already historic resume. One elusive piece of hardware. On Saturday night, Perry capped off his legendary career with the ultimate (and final) accomplishment: a state championship. Lyon County took down Harlan County in the finals, 67-58.

“We were talking earlier in the week, like what are we gonna do if we actually win?” Perry said afterward. “I felt like I was gonna cry. I feel like I could cry happy tears, but I just can’t. It’s so exciting.”

Perry, who will suit up for the Wildcats next season, willed his team to the finish line down the stretch. He finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-18 shooting, including a 5-9 clip from deep. At one point, he was taking (and making) shots from well beyond NBA range. Perry chipped in five assists and two steals for good measure while playing all 32 minutes.

He was named MVP of the tournament.

Travis Perry from Steph Curry & Tayshaun Prince range! He’s got 17!

Lyon up 36-27 2Q in state finals pic.twitter.com/G6Co6cV6sX

— Troy Howell (@teeroyhowell) March 24, 2024

With every passing game this week, Perry only improved. He went from scoring 16 points in the opener to 21 in the quarterfinals and then 24 in the semifinals before his masterpiece in the championship. Afterward, he didn’t even feel tired, saying it might take a few hours for the soreness to finally kick in.

This was actually the third year in a row that Perry and Lyon County made it to the Sweet 16, but early exits in the previous two seasons left a sour taste in their mouths. Now a senior, Perry wasn’t going to be denied a state championship in his final ride as a high school athlete.

“These guys are winners,” Lyon County head coach Ryan Perry, Travis’ dad, said. “I mean, there’s guys that are winners. These guys are winners and they just find a way to win. Their will to win is so so strong, just being around them, losing is not an option. They just want to win so so bad.”

Lyon County was among KSR’s top three-ranked teams all season long. The Lyons finished with a 34-3 overall record, cruising through the 2nd Region to reach Rupp Arena. Once in Lexington, Lyon County took down, in order, Ashland Blazer (45-43), Adair County (80-65), and top-ranked Great Crossing (58-49) to reach the finals.

After defeating Great Crossing, led by four-star junior center Malachi Moreno, earlier on Saturday, it was a quick turnaround to playing in the title bout that same night. Perry and company didn’t get much of a break in between games (and to be fair, Harlan County had even less time to rest), but tired legs or nervous feelings weren’t going to slow down this group of longtime teammates.

“A little bit of nerves, more just excited,” A smiling Perry said about his mindset in between the semifinals and championship. “I know it’s gonna be my last high school game no matter what, and I feel like this is just the best way to end it. I had my faith in my guys, had faith in myself that were gonna have a great game plan and go out and execute it, and luckily we did that. I’m just excited we did.”

Perry’s high school career ends the exact same way it started — alongside two of his closest friends, Jack Reddick and Brady Shoulders. Those three go back further than the beginning of high school, actually. This is a group of hungry basketball players that have been preparing for this moment since they were in second grade.

“Honestly I was thinking about that today,” Perry said. “In the locker room before the game we were playing the ‘Do the John Wall’ song, that used to be our go-to and we won the state tournament for AAU three years in a row.”

“These guys were crazy,” Coach Perry added. “In the second grade, they wanted to practice every single night. We didn’t have a place to practice at. We were having to practice at a church with the concrete floor, move the chairs out, move them back in after practice. It was such a headache. I mean, these guys were so hungry to play the game of basketball, they loved it.”

Those frustrating hours sure did pay off. It’s an appropriate ending to a path that was a decade in the making. Everything Perry, his teammates, and his father did from all the way back in second grade up to this point was preparation for Saturday night.

Now, it’s time to see what Perry can do as a full-time resident of Lexington during the 2024-25 college basketball season.