Travis got a UK offer Saturday. (Photo by YourSportsEdge)
It’s not like Travis Perry was an unknown player.
The 6-2 Lyon County guard is ranked 66th nationally at Rivals, 56th at ESPN and 70th via 247 Sports Composite.
Perry has already scored 3,189 points in his high school career — and is easily within range of “King” Kelly Coleman’s all-time state scoring record of 4,337 points set at Wayland from 1953-56. He led Lyon County to its first state tourney trip in 71 years last season when he averaged 27.5 points per game as a sophomore and shot 49 percent overall from the field, 38 percent from 3-point range and 82 percent at the foul line.
Still, he came into the summer with scholarship offers only from Creighton, Western Kentucky, Mississippi and New Orleans. However, that has changed dramatically and Saturday he got a scholarship offer from John Calipari on an unofficial visit.
“I was kind of surprised,” Perry said Saturday afternoon. “We went to his office and he said he had a scholarship to offer. I was very appreciative.”
In the past few weeks Perry had receiver scholarship offers from Purdue, Bradley, Nebraska, Iowa, Cincinnati, Missouri and Wake Forest. Now he has the one from Kentucky after Calipari watched him play a week earlier in Shelbyville where he had 42 points in one game with 42 points and 36 points against the defending Indiana state champion with Calipari in the gym.
Perry said a strong April and May with his AAU team gained him a lot of attention from college coaches.
“A lot of coaches just started reaching out to me. The showcase at Collins (in Shelbyville), we played in front of a lot of coaches and important people. I had a great opportunity and that helped me piggyback off what I did in April and May,” Perry said.
So what are the coaches telling him they like the most about him?
“A lot of coaches just mention my skills, IQ and toughness I play with,” Perry said. “Some coaches talk about my skills in transition and how I can put the ball in the basket or find open teammates. They feel like I am a smart player who makes good decisions to help my team win.”
“Our team plays really fast. We play a lot of five-out, dribble drive like a lot of coaches do now. A lot of coaches think I could slide right into their system and not have to adapt and change my ways.”
Kentucky has now offered six players in the 2024 recruiting class —Ian Jackson, Tre Johnson, Isaiah Elohim, Karter Knox and Amier Ali. That’s way more scholarship offers to rising juniors that Calipari normally offers by early summer and could signal a big change in his recruiting philosophy. Jackson, Johnson, Elohim and Knox are all top-10 players in the 2024 class.
Calipari already has a commitment from North Laurel star Reed Sheppard in the 2023 class, another sign he could be changing his philosophy. In his first 10 years at UK, Calipari signed just two in-state players — Derek Willis and Dominque Hawkins in the 2013 class.
6 Responses
Nice article. I watched a YouTube of him playing, he looks like he has a lot of potential. All indications are that Cal is making several shifts in his recruiting philosophy. Contrary to what some think, I don’t think Cal is fading, no one last as long as he has without being adaptable with good leadership skills. I expect he will some day retire and when he does do so on a rather high note.
Travis is a really, really good player
Probably the most in state player getting attention since RexChapman. I haven’t seen him play yet will do so when my alumi school Henderson.co plays them this winter
you will love watching Travis
We already have Reed Shepherd at SG, and the Dillingham kid is a SG as well…maybe he can play the point too. I would like to see us get the Travis kid, but he may see things being crowded at his position.
He is not in same recruiting class as Dillingham and Sheppard
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