Once a South Carolina commit, Trent Noah will face his former team on Saturday

Trent Noah could be coming out of the opposing team’s tunnel this weekend at Rupp Arena. Nine months ago, Feb. 8, 2025, was expected to be his return home. But by following his heart (and with help from a coaching change), the Bluegrass native will trot onto the court wearing the colors he was born to wear.

You might remember a time when Noah was committed to the South Carolina Gamecocks. It really wasn’t all that long ago either. It was back in May when the Gamecocks released Noah from his National Letter of Intent so he could join Mark Pope at Kentucky. Had John Calipari not left for Arkansas, the Harlan County product would be playing his college basketball in Columbia.

But fate wasn’t having it. And the Big Blue Nation sure is happy to see him in the blue and white. Noah will now face his “former” team for the first time when Kentucky hosts South Carolina on Saturday.

Noah has done plenty of good things as a true freshman under Pope, as well. Playing alongside another in-state rookie star in Travis Perry (who grew up on the opposite side of the state from Noah) the 6-foot-5 wing has filled a necessary — albeit limited — role this season. He’s appeared in 10 games for the Wildcats, averaging 1.9 points in 6.8 minutes per outing. His best performance was a five-point showing in a huge road win over Tennessee when he knocked in a deep three and scored a layup on a broken play.

Deep catch and shoot 👌 is sooooo good from @trentnoah2_.

📺 – ESPN pic.twitter.com/vVqXWrT8ET

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 29, 2025

Noah doesn’t play every game, but when Pope needs him to fill some of the gaps, he knows the eastern Kentucky native will step up.

“He’s a special young man and he’s a terrific basketball player. He’s been really good for us,” Pope said Thursday. “He’s been good for us on the court, in games, on the court in practice, in the locker room. He’s like a sponge. He just learns so fast. He really takes in information and he’ll execute after one conversation, which is a tremendous skill. He’s going to be a great player.”

Eventually, down the road, Noah expects to be an important piece of this program. He’s the state’s fifth all-time leading high school scorer (Perry is first) and was a borderline Top 100 recruit. He would have crawled to Lexington if asked. I mean, the kid wears No. 9 on his jersey because all he thinks about is winning Kentucky its ninth national title. He is exactly where he is supposed to be.

Under Calipari, Kentucky was never truly an option for Noah out of high school. Perry only barely made the cut. But Pope has put a massive emphasis on recruiting homegrown players. Noah could have continued on at South Carolina or gone to the likes of Butler, Central Florida, Western Kentucky, California, Dayton, or any of the other schools that reached out with scholarships.

But now, it’s hard to imagine him playing anywhere else.

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