Photo - Ky All Stars Twitter
After passing ‘King’ Kelly Coleman as the all-time scoring leader in Kentucky boys’ basketball at last season’s Sweet 16, Lyon County’s Travis Perry became the presumptive leader and, barring some kind of injury or other significant incident, the runaway favorite to claim the 2024 Mr. Basketball award.
Surpassing 5,000 career points this season and announcing his intention to attend the University of Kentucky next year, only further cemented what was expected to be a mere formality this year.
That formality became a reality Sunday night for the young man who has been a starter on his team for six seasons as Perry was named the winner of the award during the Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony at the Lexington Griffin Gate Marriott Resort. The Mr. Basketball award is presented annually by the Kentucky Lions Eye Association.
Perry was one of sixteen finalists for the award, one from each of the state’s 16 regions, but in all reality, the award was probably never headed to anywhere but Eddyville this season as long as Perry had one of his ‘typical’ seasons.
Heading into this week’s Boys’ Sweet 16, in 35 games, Travis Perry has scored 1,034 points this year for an average of 29.5 points per game. He has made 198 2-point shots, 170 shots from behind the 3-point line, and 128 free throws. His career point total currently stands at 5,393.
He is 368 of 728 from the field for 50.5 percent. He is shooting 42 percent from behind the 3-point line, making 170 of 405 shots from deep. Perry is shooting 85.3 percent from the free throw line, having made 128 of 150 attempts.
Not only does Perry score, but he has been a factor for the Lyons on the boards, pulling down 189 rebounds for an average of 5.4 per contest.
Travis Perry becomes the fourth Mr. Basketball winner from the 2nd Region, joining Harry Todd (Earlingon) in 1958, Jon Hood (Madisonville-North Hopkins) in 2009, and Anthony Hickey (Christian County) in 2011.
Perry was also recognized as the 2024 Boys’ Three Point Leader during the event.
As the Mr. Basketball winner, Perry will wear the #1 jersey at this year’s Kentucky/Indiana All-Star Game in June.
