Travis Perry Hearing from Lot of College Coaches but Western Kentucky Has Made Him a Priority from the Start

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While Travis Perry was pursuing becoming only the second Kentucky high school boys basketball player to score 4,000 points in his career, he also had to continue to take phone calls and visits from major college coaches recruiting the Lyon County junior.

Perry joined King Kelly Coleman in the 4,000-point club Feb. 11 when he scored 32 points in a win over Bracken County. He followed that with a school-record, 61 point outing against Dawson Springs on Saturday when he went 24 of 37 from the field and 8-for-18 from 3-point range (he already has the state record for 3-pointers made in a career).

Perry is now only 179 points away from breaking the state’s all-time scoring record of 4, 337 points set by King Kelly Coleman from 1953-56.

Since he averages 32 points per game, he would need six more games to break the all-time record based on his per game average. That means if Lyon could repeat as 2nd Region champion (winning two district tourney games and three more in the region) the six game would be in the first round of the state tourney at Rupp Arena.

Perry was hearing from plenty of college coaches before he hit 4,000 points — John Calipari was there for his record-setting 61-point game —  and that certainly won’t change the next few weeks or once AAU play begins.

One school who has made him a recruiting priority from the start is Western Kentucky.

“I love their coaches. They are in touch all the time,” Perry said. “They are in all the time to see. I really like them. I have a great relationship with their coaches and am continuing to build that.”

He says recently Western, Cincinnati and Purdue have also been to Lyon County and he’s also made a visit to Vanderbilt. He also has been getting a lot of attention from Missouri and Indiana.

What about Kentucky?

“Coach Cal obviously is coach Cal. He’s a great coach and from when I have talked to him, he is a great person who cares about his players, program and all the people involved in it,” Perry said. “We have conversations where they tell me good game. They are keeping in touch. I am growing that relationship. It’s just about growing that relationship and building it more with them.”

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Lyon County opens 5th District Tournament play Tuesday against Livingston Central, a team it has beat twice by over 40 points each time. Perry scored 24 points in the first win over Livingston Central and 30 in the second meeting. You can hear the Lyons on wkdzradio.com during coverage of the 5th District Tournament.