Travis Perry 'definitely up there' among best shooters Kerr Kriisa has seen: "(He's) phenomenal"

Lyon County’s own Travis Perry was there to confirm a few rumors and rumblings about his hot shooting start to open his time at Kentucky. We’ll start with the latest chatter regarding a few 100 for 100 days at the free throw line this past week — pretty spectacular streaks for any player at any level.

“That is true. We started a new shooting competition this week as a team, it’s been a good team-building thing but also just to make sure we’re all in there getting our shots in,” Perry said this week. “Free throws, I got 100 out of 100 three days in a row, so I’ve been working on that. If they’re free, you’ve got to make them. Free throws are pretty universal, same distance, I guess.”

How about Andrew Carr‘s report that Perry knocked down 59 consecutive threes in a drill a few weeks back? Confirmed.

“59 in a row, that was also true. That was an earlier shooting competition, however many we could make in a row from the left corner to start out,” the in-state standout added. “I hit 59 of them in a row, all threes. I’ve had a few streaks like that before in high school, I think I got mid-80s one time. We were pretty locked in those times, so that’s the goal now.”

The legend continues to grow with each practice as Perry looks to build these streaks and master his shooting craft ahead of his freshman debut in Lexington. That’s added a little bit of pressure going into the gym each day — but fun pressure.

“(It feels) awful (to miss a shot during a streak). It’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “Once you get above 30, you start thinking about it a little bit and there’s a little bit of pressure in your head. It’s just fun to compete against yourself every day, have guys in there working with you. We’ve got great managers that rebound for us whenever we want it, they’re as locked in as we are.”

It’s hard for his teammates to put into words just how impressive it is watching it in person. From the hours he puts in and the accuracy that’s followed, they can say with confidence Perry is doing things they’ve never seen before.

And that’s with a lot of college basketball experience under their belts.

“People probably think we’re joking, but, no, we are being serious: his shooting numbers are crazy,” Drexel transfer Amari Williams said of Perry. “… I’ve seen a lot of great shooters in my four years of college, but when we’re doing our shooting test this week, Travis is going back-to-back days going 100 for 100 free throws? Doing that, then seeing how many threes he makes, it’s crazy.”

“Travis is phenomenal. I don’t know, I’ve had some pretty good shooters around me, but he’s definitely up there,” West Virginia transfer Kerr Kriisa added. “He’s very — and he works hard, man. He really does. He’s in the gym, yesterday he was in there four times. We get our massage and then he’s back in there after the massage. He’s just always in the gym and the results are showing.”

Those are two super seniors with a combined eight years of hooping experience at this level. To have a freshman come in who doesn’t need to be told when and how to work, someone who has the itch to improve every day with a desire to win?

That means something to the vets.

“It makes everyone’s job easier, knowing they know what to do and have the confidence to do it,” Williams said. “That goes a long way.”