Travis Perry is 'pretty unflappable,' now 'feeling more and more comfortable' in expanded role for Kentucky

It must be the mustache, right? Travis Perry didn’t hit his season-high in terms of scoring total — he was one missed free throw away from tying it with five points — but he did play the most minutes of his early Kentucky career with 14 and looked as comfortable as we’ve seen him in the blue and white. The freshman guard finished with four points on 1-2 shooting and 1-2 at the line while adding two rebounds and a steal, knocking down his first 3-pointer since November 22.

After performing the game autopsy in the team’s win over Brown on New Year’s Eve, Mark Pope couldn’t have been happier with Perry’s all-around play in the expanded role he’s taken on since Kerr Kriisa went down with a broken foot.

“TP looked the most comfortable he’s looked out there against real pressure,” Pope said of the Eddyville native on Thursday. “I mean, full-court press on every single possession, and he looked really comfortable. He just looked like he felt it and I was really pleased. Sometimes he broke the pressure and stayed on attack. You can tell he’s feeling more and more comfortable.”

It came after Perry admits he accidentally shaved his mustache off earlier in the day, forgetting to put the guard on his electric razor and taking him to the point of no return. No chance that’s a coincidence.

“It was a good change, I think. I think we played well after it, so we can bank it on that,” Perry joked following the win.

With Kriisa’s status still in question — no timeline update from Pope on Thursday — you can expect to see more of Perry as SEC play begins. At times leading up to the Brown matchup, that felt like a potential problem, the game clearly moving too fast on both ends for the first-year guard. There were slip-ups against the Bears, too, with the Kentucky head coach teasing both Perry and fellow freshman Collin Chandler after they ‘got cooked immediately‘ on baseline out-of-bounds plays on NYE.

It was the response, though, that impressed Pope. Perry showed he can handle adversity and turn those learning experiences into production. He’s growing, as all young talent does with opportunity.

“It’s just about getting used to the cadence of the game and kind of understanding at this level what you need to be super aware of, what you gotta let go, what you don’t need to be distracted by. That’s just a learning process,” Pope said. “The great thing about TP is he’s pretty unflappable. He just is, he’s like, ‘Yep.’ He’s very even keeled and he’s incredibly talented, he picks up information so fast.

“Mostly it’s just more minutes on the floor where he can kind of show what he already is bringing the table, because he’s already bringing so much to the table.”

Think he’s an easy defensive target because of his size or foot speed? Test him. Assume you can get in his head as a ball-handler with some gimmicky pressure? Try it.

“He’s already a guy — like, go pressure him. He’s going to handle the pressure fine,” Pope continued. “Try and trick up the way you’re guarding, he’s going to read it really, really well in the half-court. Try and take advantage of him defensively and, ‘Man, this guy’s way better than I think he is.’ He’s already got those tools, it’s just a matter of becoming more comfortable.”

What does Pope need to see out of Perry to continue to build confidence and trust in his abilities? More of what the freshman guard is showing now. He’s right on track and his long-term talent is clear.

“He’s making great strides, so just everywhere, right? It’s just growing into the game,” he said. “It’s just, you know, it’s not actually growing into it, because he’s fully capable. It’s just about getting comfortable, it’s just that comfort level and being assignment sound.”

Brown was a major step in the right direction. Can he keep that momentum up to begin SEC play?