Trent Noah excited to team up with Travis Perry: 'We're trying to hang number nine together.'

Two County boys from opposite ends of the state are about to link up together in Lexington — and they have set lofty goals in front of them.

Once Harlan County’s Trent Noah officially announced his commitment to Kentucky on Wednesday, the Big Blue Nation immediately dreamt of a starting backcourt that featured the state’s fifth all-time leading high school scorer (Noah) and the state’s top all-time leading high school scorer (Lyon County’s Travis Perry).

Perry has been locked in with Kentucky since November, and a coaching change wasn’t going to stop him from playing for the program he grew up cheering for. That coaching change is actually what helped bring Noah (a former South Carolina signee) into the fold, as well. New head coach Mark Pope has harped on adding players who are proud to wear Kentucky across their chests — you won’t find two Bluegrass kids more proud to do so than Noah and Perry (well, them and Reed Sheppard).

As in-state stars, Noah and Perry will have high expectations to live up to. Sheppard turning himself into a one-and-done prospect didn’t exactly help temper those expectations, either. But these two want that pressure. That’s what playing at Kentucky is all about for them.

They’ve already experienced the pressure of playing in Rupp Arena (Perry’s Lyon County beating Noah’s Harlan County in the state tournament finals earlier this spring) and are eager to get to work as teammates toward the ultimate goal: winning a ninth national championship at Kentucky — a dream they’ve likely played out in their heads since they were young kids doing the John Wall Dance.

“Travis, he’s an exceptional guy. He comes from an exceptional family,” Noah said of his future teammate Thursday morning on KSR. “We played together some this summer and we got to compete against each other in the state finals but the good thing is — we were talking — it’s just now that we’re on the side same, we’re working toward that same goal. We’re trying to hang number nine together. To finally be on the same team, it really is special. That’s one of the first people that I texted after and I’m just super excited to get to work with him.”

The fanbase is equally as excited to see these two Kentucky-born players suit up in the blue and white. What would be better than a Noah-Perry backcourt leading the Wildcats to a national title or two?