'Pressure is a privilege.' Trent Noah embracing challenges of playing at Kentucky

When the opportunity to play at Kentucky surfaced for Trent Noah, he didn’t have to do much internal debating. The Harlan County kid was going to play for his childhood dream school. Soon after Mark Pope accepted the head coaching job at UK, Noah decommitted from South Carolina and quickly landed in Lexington.

During his first media-wide press conference of the summer on Tuesday, Noah kept the actual recruiting process close to the vest — understandably not giving many details on specifics of the transition. Instead, he emphasized how happy he is at Kentucky and the work he and his teammates have been putting in behind the scenes.

He could have stuck with South Carolina, where he likely would have received an earlier opportunity to play under head coach Lamont Paris. But when a Kentucky boy has the chance to represent his state, there’s no turning that down. Noah wants the stress and anxiety and tension that comes with being an in-state player.

“Growing up a Kentucky fan, I obviously know how big of a deal it is to wear the Kentucky jersey and we’re at the University of Kentucky. Pressure is a privilege,” Noah said. “It’s amazing to be here, super grateful to be here. That’s why we don’t take it for granted. We come in every day and work and it really is an honor to put on the jersey.”

It also helps that Pope’s system is something Noah sees himself thriving in. As a 6-foot-6 wing who can shoot the ball from everywhere on the floor, he’s an ideal fit on paper for a fast-paced, three-point-heavy offense. We sometimes forget that Noah finished fifth all-time in the state of Kentucky with 3,707 career high school points. He can score the ball with the best of them.

“I feel like (the offense is) set up for me,” Noah said.

Fellow freshman Travis Perry — another talented in-state player who finished with arguably the greatest high school career in the history of the Bluegrass — has been garnering headlines for his impressive percentages during summer shooting drills, but Noah’s name has been mentioned a handful of times by his new Kentucky teammates during interviews, as well.

“I feel like he’s been great,” Fifth-year guard Koby Brea said of Noah. “Trent has been really, really great. Coach talks a lot about how he committed to South Carolina and he had a set spot for him and he decided to take a tougher route and come here and understand that he might not be able to have the same impact that he was gonna have at another school. But he’s so willing to learn and listen and do all the right things.”

Brea has been preaching patience to Noah — not everything he wants out of college basketball will come right away. That hasn’t been a problem so far though. Brea added that Noah always listens and soaks in as much information as possible during practice.

“I remember being a freshman and wanting everything to come super quick,” Brea said. “But that’s not the reality for a lot of us.”

Going from playing in the state championship game earlier this year as a Top 150 recruit in the nation to coming off the bench behind so many veterans this fall will feel like starting all over again for Noah. He admitted as much on Tuesday. But that’s part of why he ultimately committed to Kentucky — to build a legacy that will be remembered for years to come.

After all, there’s a reason why he decided to wear No. 9 on his jersey…

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