Chris Zollner Photo
As soon as Lyon County lost to George Rogers Clark in the 2023 state tournament quarterfinals, the Lyons turned their focus to this year.
“Our players were heartbroken. Our goal is to win a state championship. We played a tough schedule to make sure we are prepared for what we will see in the state tourney,” Lyon coach Ryan Perry said Monday. “Three of our five key guys are seniors who helped us win tough regional games. We are hoping they will keep leading the way.”
Lyon (32-3) opens state play this afternoon against 16th Region champion Ashland.
The Lyons are led by Perry’s son, Travis, a UK signee who was named Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball on Sunday. He averaged 31.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.9 steals per game this season while shooting 63 percent overall from the field and 84 percent at the foul line.
Travis Perry broke King Kelly Coleman’s all-time state high school scoring record at the state tourney last year and goes into today’s game with 5,393 career points.
Teammate Jack Reddick, a point guard, recently committed to Florida Gulf Coast while center Brady Shoulders signed with Tennessee-Martin but recently asked for his release after a coaching change. Shoulders averages a double-double — 17.3 points and 10.3 rebounds. Reddick averages 14.8 points per game and is a 35 percent shooter from 3-point range.
Ryan Perry says his seniors felt less pressure after they all made college choices but says they all put pressure on themselves.
“It’s so hard to get through our region (2nd) when guys want to win the state so bad. They put pressure on themselves every game,” the Lyon coach said. “There has been plenty of pressure but I hope our guys can smile, enjoy Rupp (Arena) and enjoy all Lyon County cheering them on.”
Ryan Perry expects a “tough game” against Ashland, a team used to being at the state tourney, but hopes the experience his team got in the last two state tournaments helps the Lyons.
“It does feel different going in. It’s not that we felt lucky or excited to be there. First year we obviously were excited because who knows if we would do it again. Last year we felt like we were good enough to make the championship game against Warren Central but I was not sure we could beat them,” the Lyon coach said.
“This year our experience and resiliency showed the way we navigated through the schedule. Our guys, our county, our people feel maybe we are going into it with a little different purpose. That mindset is contagious. It’s not that we think we are better than anybody else. We are just going in with a little more confidence. We are not going to walk into anything we have not seen or are scared of.”
