Travis Perry would be a 'viable option' at point guard if Lamont Butler can't go

Lamont Butler‘s ankle injury he suffered against Clemson is still lingering, to the point where Kentucky head coach Mark Pope isn’t certain if his point guard will be ready to go against No. 7 Gonzaga this weekend in Seattle.

In the event that Butler can’t go or is hampered going into the Top 10 showdown, where would Pope turn to as his lead guard? Will we see more from Kerr Kriisa? Will he funnel some of those ball-handler minutes to Jaxson Robinson and Otega Oweh? We would likely see a little bit of both if Butler is unable to play.

But what about freshman Travis Perry? A portion of the Big Blue Nation was calling for him to play more against Clemson. The Bluegrass native has appeared in just five of Kentucky’s eight games this season and has played sparingly (21 total minutes) in those outings. But Pope believes that Perry could be an option if the situation calls for it.

“I have a lot of confidence in Travis Perry. He’s a terrific player,” Pope said during his Thursday press conference. “He’s a really heady player and he is immensely capable. So he definitely would be a viable option for sure.”

For starters, being without Butler against Gonzaga would be a massive loss for Kentucky. Despite the injury and foul trouble against Clemson, he was arguably the Wildcats’ best player in just 19 minutes. He’s developed into a high-level floor general who needs to be on the floor. No matter who takes over his minutes (if he’s ruled out for Saturday, that is), it’ll be a hit to Kentucky’s chances.

Perry’s time will eventually come at Kentucky, but even with Pope’s public vote of confidence, I wouldn’t expect any lengthy stretches of clock for the 6-foot-1 guard this weekend. Gonzaga boasts a Top 20 defense in the country, per KenPom, that features several talented senior guards. Especially in a rowdy road environment, throwing Perry to the wolves feels a tad unfair unless Kentucky has no other options.

Pope said during his radio show on Wednesday night that he and his staff thought about playing Robinson more at point guard down the stretch against Clemson. Will we see some of that against Gonzaga? This feels like a major opportunity for Kriisa to have his breakout game. Of course, none of this matters if Butler is healthy and ready to go, but if he’s not, it’ll be a talking point going into tipoff and throughout the game.

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