Mark Pope says Travis Perry is 'still nursing' his wrist, 'but he's gonna be huge for us next weekend.'

Travis Perry did not check into Sunday’s postseason game as Kentucky took down Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Mark Pope says the freshman guard is recovering from an issue with his wrist.

“Travis Perry is still nursing this wrist,” Pope told Tom Leach on postgame radio after the win. “But he’s gonna be huge for us next weekend.”

Pope’s comments to Leach were the first public confirmation of Perry’s wrist not being fully healthy.

Perry was spotted wearing a bandage on his right wrist during Kentucky’s open practice in Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum last Thursday, a day before the Wildcats opened the tournament against Troy. When asked about it following practice (where he was still an active participant), the Lyon County product noted he was fine to play, but added he did experience some soreness previously.

“We’re all good there,” Perry said. “I mean, there was a — you have nicks and bruises come up, especially in the SEC, pretty much every night. Just a little bit sore there for a few days, but we’re good now.”

Perry ended up playing seven minutes in Kentucky’s win Friday over the Trojans, but he did not score and missed both of his three-point attempts. Two days later, he did not see the floor against Illinois, although that could have to do more with matchups than Perry’s wrist. The Fighting Illini’s backcourt featured 6-foot-6 Kasparas Jakucionis and 6-foot-2, 205-pound Kylan Boswell — potentially tough defensive assignments for the smaller Perry. He also did not have a bandage on his wrist in this game.

But Pope seems confident Perry will step up next weekend in Indianapolis, starting with a Sweet 16 matchup against Tennessee this Friday. Perry saw playing time in both of Kentucky’s regular season wins over the Volunteers. After being held scoreless in five minutes during round one on the road, he responded in round two with eight points (2-3 3PT) in 12 minutes at home.

The good news of all this is it doesn’t sound too serious. In 31 games played this season (four starts), Perry is averaging 2.7 points in 9.7 minutes per game on 32.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.