Travis Perry opens up on "difficult" decision to leave Kentucky for Ole Miss

Travis Perry has been a Kentucky basketball star his entire life. As a high schooler, the Eddyville native broke King Kelly Coleman’s all-time scoring record and led Lyon County to a state title, winning Kentucky Mr. Basketball and Sweet 16 MVP honors along the way. He parlayed that into the next step that most kids across the Commonwealth only dream of: playing for the University of Kentucky. After one season, he changed course. Perry is now an Ole Miss Rebel, leaving Mark Pope and Kentucky to play for Chris Beard.

On Tuesday, Perry sat down with reporters in Oxford to talk about his decision. During his freshman season at Kentucky, he averaged 2.7 points (31.3% FG, 32.1% 3PT) in 9.8 minutes per game. He was thrust into a starting role four times due to injuries and handled himself well in an extremely physical SEC; however, immediate playing time looked scarce when Kentucky reloaded its roster this offseason, so Perry decided to take his talents elsewhere.

Pope told reporters a few weeks ago that he couldn’t disagree more with that decision, but Perry said it was the best one for him, and there are no hard feelings with his former coach and program.

“I was very pleased with my freshman season at Kentucky, and I feel like we had a great group of guys who I was able to learn from and just kind of transform my game,” Perry told Jake Thompson of OM Spirit. “It’s hard for any freshman coming in, especially for a freshman coming into the SEC, the best conference ever in college basketball. So, I was very blessed to have that opportunity.”

“I have nothing but love and respect for those guys and I wish them all the best but when I got in the portal, I felt like Coach Beard’s vision for me was exactly what I was looking for and I felt like we had a lot of guys coming here who wanted to win, wanted to compete at a high level and I felt like I could come in and impact that.”

Beard recruited Perry heavily out of high school — and went out of his way to note how much he still liked Perry’s game after Ole Miss’ win over Kentucky in Oxford. Perry was courted by several major programs once he entered the portal in April, including Maryland, Arkansas, and Louisville, but his connection with Beard won out. He committed to the Rebels on May 4.

“That was definitely very important for me, the relationship that myself and my family have with him, I feel like is really strong,” Perry said of Beard. “Whenever I got in the portal, I wanted to go somewhere where I knew that I was trusted by the coach, but also I could trust them in the same way, and I feel like that with the whole staff, top to bottom. I feel my relationship with Coach Beard is great. From the time I was in high school, he recruited me very hard, and whenever I got in the portal, it was more of the same. Just talking through things. The honesty was most important for me. Being honest about what I needed to work on, being honest about the vision here, but the relationship was huge for me.”

Also important: Beard’s vision for Perry. Obviously, Perry came to college with a reputation as a shooter, ranking second in Kentucky high school history in career threes (712). Last season at Kentucky, he hit 18 threes at a 32.1% clip. Beard sold Perry on expanding his game, calling him and fellow transfer James Scott (formerly of Louisville) positionless players.

“I think Travis is going to be identified by the way he shoots the basketball,” Beard said on Tuesday. “Always has been, always will, but Travis and I share a vision for his game that he’s much, much more than a shooter. That he’s a guy that can play multiple positions, like James [Scott], on the team. High IQ player.”

Perry said he wants to be known as more than a shooter and is looking forward to improving his game on the defensive end under Beard, one of the top defensive-minded coaches in the sport.

“Being able to play both positions is something that was big for me,” Perry said. “He plays a lot of guards out there at the same time, so being able to play either guard spot and just impact winning at a high level is something that’s at the top of that list, but also protecting the ball is something we’ve been focusing on…Having that grit on the defensive side of the ball is something I’m trying to value this summer as well.”

We don’t know the details of Pope’s vision for Perry as a player, but he said last month on KSR that he “desperately” tried to keep him in Lexington, selling him on the chance to build a unique legacy as a Kentucky Wildcat.

“When he told me he was leaving — we were actually having an ongoing conversation and I was trying to help him see what I saw. We just didn’t get to the same place. It was devastating to me; it hurts my soul now. I desperately wanted him to stay,” Pope said. “Travis Perry loves Kentucky, so that’s when I say I want to be sensitive — like, he loves Kentucky. I would never want to put words in his mouth, but I think probably he was not feeling super confident about the path for him here at Kentucky, being exactly what he wanted out of the game of basketball, maybe.

“I couldn’t have disagreed with him more on that, but at the end of the day, we’re all just making our best guess.”

Seeing Perry in an Ole Miss uniform next season will be weird — especially if the Rebels come to Rupp Arena; however, he says he’s confident he made the right move.

“It’s a difficult decision for anybody to get in the portal,” Perry said. “I just felt like, at the end of the day, you’ve got to make the best decision for yourself and your basketball career. You only get so much time to do it, only so much time to play basketball. So, I felt like I made the decision that myself and my family felt like was best for my basketball career, and I’m very excited about it. Excited to get going.”

Best of luck to Perry — except when the Rebels face the Cats.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.