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Ryan Perry is not only the father of Travis Perry, the state’s all-time leading high school scorer, but he is also the Lyon County basketball coach. However, the dad hat went away over the weekend when Travis Perry was finalizing his college choice.
“We sat at the dinner table for seven hours Saturday trying to hammer this thing out,” Ryan Perry said Sunday not long after he announced he was signing with Kentucky over Mississippi, Cincinnati, Western Kentucky and Alabama. “The problem for Travis is that he had so many good fit options. He had great relationships with all the coaches in his final group.”
Travis Perry made his announcement on the 247Sports YouTube channel with recruiting analyst Travis Branham. He is the No. 6 point guard and the No. 70 overall player in the Top247 Class of 2024.
He broke King Kelly Colman’s all-time scoring record last year and has 4,350 points going into his senior season. Perry scored 638 points as a seventh-grader, 852 as an eighth-grader, 709 as a freshman, 990 as a sophomore and 1,170 as a junior. He is also the state’s career leader in made 3-pointers with 528.
Perry was the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year last season when he averaged a state-best 31.6 points per game along with 6.1 rebounds as Lyon went 31-6 and reached the state quarterfinals.
Sunday with family and friends by his side and Lyon County fans in the stands watching, he surprised some by picking UK.
“At the end of the day I decided to stay home and play for my home state school,” Perry said Sunday. “Growing up I played for the West Kentucky Wildcats and now I’m excited to join the Kentucky Wildcats.”
He admitted he had always dreamed of playing for UK and got to make his “dream a reality”on Sunday.
“My wife and I both graduated from Kentucky and we are Kentucky fans but this has been Travis’ decision from the beginning,” Ryan Perry said. “I made a point in recruiting that he would be making his own decision because when we drop him off (at school) next May and things get tough it will be him there and not us.
“We encouraged him but tried not to influence him. If he asked questions, I would give my opinion. The relationship he had with a lot of coaches amplified how hard this decision was.”
Coach Perry said his son was never “leaning” to one school before he made his final decision.
“I came down to Kentucky and all the other schools,” Ryan Perry said. “If it had not been Kentucky, then he would have had to make a choice. But he felt like his legacy was here in Kentucky and he wanted to keep it here and play for Kentucky. He’ll give his blood and sweat for Kentucky fans.
“He knows what Kentucky basketball means to Kentucky people. We tried to keep him grounded and level headed the whole time because there might have been a better situation out there. All paths are different but he just wanted to put that Kentucky jersey on.”
It helped seeing what freshman Reed Sheppard is doing at Kentucky already. He was Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball last year — an honor Perry is favored to earn this season — and some wondered what impact he would make. However, he’s quickly shown he not only will be part of the playing rotation but a significant part of the rotation.
“Him and Reed are friends. What Reed has done has resonated with him,” Ryan Perry said. “They play the same way. They are both high IQ players and make others around them better. Seeing the success Reed has had does give him confidence.
“Travis also knows how important Kentucky is to Reed, too. He knows he is going to clock in every day with somebody that it equally means the same to.”
Ryan Perry also credited UK coach John Calipari for building a relationship with the family.
“He has treated our family and Travis like part of the family from the time he was offered a scholarship,” the Lyon coach said. “He’s had an open door policy and has been incredible with him. I think in the end that helped Travis a lot and meant a lot to him.”
Travis Perry thanked everyone from his family to teammates to coaches to Lyon fans before making his decision that drew a large ovation.
“The place went crazy. I saw an 80-year-old jumping out of his seat and fist pumping,” Ryan Perry said.
Travis Perry is as poised with media interviews as he is on the court. His father said he typed out prepared statements for the announcement but “it looked like he didn’t look” at them during his ceremony.
“He is gifted. Other players hate going after him (for an interview). Heck, I do too. He’s a lot better than me,” Ryan Perry said.
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Perry joins previous signees Boogie Fland and Somto Cyril in Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class. Fland and Cyril signed with UK last week.
7 Responses
I was wrong and I will eat my crow. Welcome young man. Now just stay off social media and don’t listen to the fan "experts".
Same here Jimmy and you made a good point to him don’t listen to the so call experts.
He will be fine Jimmy
I think that Reed’s current success was a big influence on his decision. I actually thought he was leaning towards UK after I read his thought on Reed(here). This is a big win for UK!
Go Cats!
I think it made a huge difference
Is it me or is Cal quietly building the nucleus of an old school team(different that he usually does). I mean if they stick it out when Thero is a Sr. we should have Reed, Travis, Burks and Soto(not currently projected 1 and done) as the nucleus of a team that can win it all with just a few high profile recruits. Am I the only one seeing this? Or am I dillusional. I mean these guys are not your typical Cal recruits. These young men to me seem like the building blocks or the foundation of something special that the BBN has been clamoring for. Guys who come play and stay for the BBN! Does anyone else see this or am I just dreaming?
Great season for Lyons co to win the state championship , it was fitting for Travis Perry after winning all the awards and breaking Kelly Coleman record . I was talking to his dad at Wayland Gym he said that was a great feeling walking into that old gym the Perry’s is a nice Christian family glad to know them and watch Travis play . Wish him best of luck and looking forward to see him playing for the cats, Carlos Smith