Trent Noah expects BBN to fall in love with this Kentucky team. (Colby Vaught Photo)
Trent Noah had no intention of entering the transfer portal following his freshman campaign.
“This is the greatest place on earth, and I love Coach (Mark) Pope’s vision for me,” Noah said Monday. “He sees the same kind of path that I see. That’s what we’re looking to do this year and on the way, win number nine.”
Going into his second season with the Wildcats, the former Harlan County High School standout knows what to expect on and off the court.
“Having a year under my belt (makes it easier),” he said. “College basketball is in a whole world of its own – It’s nothing like high school basketball. So coming back to Year 2, knowing what to expect, knowing how the coaching staff does it, is definitely, definitely helps me out.”
Looking back, Noah admitted he “had no idea what to expect” when he arrived on campus last summer.
“It (was) completely brand new to me last year, so now I kind of know how practices are structured and how things go, how the season works, and into more detail, like when official practice starts, and stuff like that,” he said. “I think little things like that are good to know.”
This time around, Noah will be without teammate and classmate Travis Perry, who transferred to Ole Miss during the offseason. Noah was aware Perry was considering his alternatives, but was still surprised when he entered the transfer portal at the 11th hour.
“It stung,” Noah said. “I did everything I could to keep him here. He was one of my good friends, and he’s an excellent player, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to do what’s best for you, and that’s what he thought was best for him. I love and wish him the best, not looking forward to playing him, that’s for sure.”
Noah likes the makeup of this year’s squad and said the Wildcats are bonding both on and off the court.
“I feel like it’ll be just like last year,” he said. “I think that the BBN will fall in love with the new guys, especially Coach (Mark) Pope again. They’re excellent human beings once again, so that always makes it even better and more enjoyable to play with (guys like that).”
The team had practice on Monday and has been watching the NBA Finals, among other activities, to speed up the chemistry process.
“We’ve been just kind of kicking in the lodge, playing ping pong, stuff like that,” he said. “The camps were really cool, because that’s kind of your first experience, and you get to play two-on-two with two dads, and you just kind of get to mess around, joke around with the team. That’s an important piece for us.”
Although he’s now considered more of a veteran, Noah still finds it hard to believe he’s wearing the blue and white.
“It’s kind of still surreal to me that I get to wake up and put on a Kentucky (jersey),” he said. “It’s, it’s crazy. I mean, growing up watching it, and now I’m here. I’ve been here over 365, days, and it still feels like the very first time I put it on. It’s special. It’s like magic.”
2 Responses
It’s a shame that this kid will most likely only see mop up duty this year once conference play begins…he is better than that but not good enough to beat out the 2 guys ahead of him at his position (shooting guard or small forward for that matter). He definitely loves being a Wildcat more than he loves playing, but how long will that Wildcat love last? What a blessing for Pope to have a guy like Noah waiting in the wings in case of an injury. In that event, he would be a difference maker as could Chandler at the point. There is no way knowing how this season will play out but Kentucky is a better team for having these 2 guys on the roster.
My boy Noah. Who should have been redshirted last year and should be a redshirt freshman this year. I told everyone time and time again it would take 2 years for him to see playing time. He could have played 5-10 mins a game this year then cracked the rotation as a sophomore playing real minutes then started his junior and senior season. Now he will still start his senior year but it took a year away from him playing real minutes. If it wasn’t for injuries I think he would have been a redshirt. Noah is a great basketball player. We just have better players playing for us now. His time will come the question is does he wait for it?