Trent Noah, Travis Perry got their feet wet vs. Jackson State: 'Their futures are incredibly bright.'
Kentucky men’s basketball freshmen Trent Noah and Travis Perry have played a combined 36 minutes through four appearances each this season. The Bluegrass natives usually check in when the game’s outcome is already decided. But the roar they receive from the Big Blue Nation is always one of the biggest pops of the night regardless of what the scoreboard says.
That was the case once again on Friday night when Kentucky blasted Jackson State 108-59 inside Rupp Arena. Perry checked in with 5:50 left in the game while Noah entered with 2:55 to go. The in-state products both drilled three-pointers — the first of their college careers — within a 90-second span of each other.
Despite the lopsided score, both makes from deep threw the Rupp Arena crowd into a frenzy. Perry’s three put Kentucky over the century mark. The Bluegrass boys might not see the floor all that often this season, but the fans and their teammates are locked in for every second when they do.
“They are really, really special,” Head coach Mark Pope said of Perry and Noah afterward. “They are having a massive impact on this team and their futures are incredibly bright. It’s hard to sit for 35 minutes and come play. I think they are taking it really seriously and I thought they came to play tonight, I thought they were awesome. I thought they were really good doing a really hard thing. I’m proud of those guys. It’s incredibly beautiful to have freshmen that you can trust like we trust them and they have great futures.”
For Noah, that make was the first official bucket of his college career. He was previously 0-3 from the field in three games across 14 minutes. Perry finished with five points, capping off Kentucky’s 108-point performance with a pair of free throws. He scored two points in the Wildcats’ game prior against Lipscomb.
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“It was great. I was happy for those guys,” Senior wing Ansley Almonor said of the two rookies. “They’re out there putting in the hard work, they’re in the gym all the time. When their chance comes, they’re gonna be ready to play and they’re gonna be great players for sure.”
“It was so exciting. We practice with those guys every day and they put in so much work,” Junior guard Otega Oweh added. “You guys know what type of players they are because they’re the Kentucky boys. Just seeing their work come into fruition — there’s many more to come, really.”
Perry and Noah’s time will come eventually. It might not be this season considering Kentucky’s depth, but the plan all along was to develop them into homegrown stars down the road. We heard all summer from coaches and players how dangerous they are as pure shooters. These are two of the state’s all-time leading high school scorers, after all (Perry 1st, Noah 5th).
“It’s awesome. I love seeing them and me shoot the ball well together,” Freshman guard Collin Chandler said. “Every day, us three are grouped to shoot together, we’re always competing against each other every day. And it’s tough competition with those two. So I’m not surprised at all. There’s obviously many more to come as the whole state of Kentucky and all of BBN knows. It’s awesome.”
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