Travis Perry continues to string together quality performances in expanded role

Travis Perry has been tossed into the proverbial fire in the absence of Kentucky starting point guard Lamont Butler.

This wasn’t supposed to be how Perry’s freshman season played out either. He was expected to learn behind the likes of Butler and fellow fifth-year ball handler Kerr Kriisa before taking on a larger role next season and beyond. But injuries haven’t allowed the Lyon County product any buffer. Kriisa has been sidelined since December while Butler continues to recover from a shoulder issue that just doesn’t seem to want to heal. Secondary point guard Jaxson Robinson is also recovering from an injury, leaving head coach Mark Pope with minimal floor general options.

But to Perry’s credit, he’s done about as well as anyone could have asked. Through his first 18 games of the season, the 6-foot guard averaged just 1.6 points in six minutes per outing. But over his previous six (the last three as a starter in place of Butler), Perry has wiggled his way into a key rotational spot: 6.2 points on 38.1 percent shooting from deep in 18 minutes per contest. He’s scored at least five points in five of those six games.

“I think he’s done a great job of stepping up and that’s kind of where we’re at right now,” Fifth-year forward Andrew Carr said of Perry following Kentucky’s road loss to Alabama on Saturday. “Everybody is being able to get more experience and, for him, he’s been taking advantage of it and just getting more and more confident out there, and that’s what we need from him. He’s going to continue to get better and help this team a lot.”

Currently a full-time starter, Perry hasn’t been perfect, but he’s been more than serviceable for the ‘Cats. It’s essentially Perry and seven-foot center Amari Williams running the point right now. Over his last three games, Perry has seen at least 26 minutes in all of them. He’s posting per-game averages of eight points, two assists, and two steals. His most impressive showing was the 12-point, four-steal performance (both season-highs) against the Crimson Tide over the weekend, arguably his best game yet as a Wildcat.

“Travis Perry steps up, scores double-digits. He wasn’t playing that heavy before,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said postgame. “They’ve had guys step up and play well.”

Perry’s recent shooting numbers would look better if not for the 1-7 mark from deep against the Tide (and if he was awarded shooting fouls). For the season, he’s actually at 36.6 percent (15-41) from deep. But continuing to shoot despite a slump is exactly what fans should want to see out of Perry. He didn’t score over 5,000 points in high school by accident; his job right now is to shoot the rock whenever he has the air space.

With every passing game, you can see his confidence building, no matter the environment or which team is on the other end of the floor.

“He’s been doing a great job of just staying present and knowing what we need,” Fifth-year guard Koby Brea said of Perry. “We’ve been asking a lot from him and I feel he’s been responding really well.”

Kentucky would obviously rather have Butler operating the offense, but Perry’s unexpectedly expanded role this late in the season should only help the Wildcats come postseason time. Perry is being forced to grow up at a rapid pace and has shown plenty of potential in the process. If Pope can get a healthy roster in time for early March, he’ll have an extra weapon off the bench with plenty of SEC experience.

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