The small cities of Eddyville and Kuttawa, both in Lyon County in far western Kentucky, have not produced very many noteworthy basketball stars over the years.
If you’re a true basketball fan, I’m sure you have heard of Joe Fulks. He was a legendary NBA star who played during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
The Sporting News once called Fulks “the greatest basketball player in the country” in 1949. A NAIA All-American at Murray State, the 6-foot-5 Fulks pumped in a then-NBA record of scoring 63 points in a game. He was also chosen to NBA’s 25th Anniversary All-Star team in 1971. In 1978, he was voted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
When Fulks was a senior at now-defunct Kuttawa High School (which merged with Eddyville High to form Lyon County High in 1947), he was popularly called the “Kuttawa Klipper,” leading the Lions to the state tournament and breaking numerous state records. Even Coach Adolph Rupp wanted Fulks to play college basketball at UK, but the youngster said no.
Now we have UK freshman Travis Perry, a sharpshooter who sparked Lyon County to 2024 state title, beating future Wildcat teammate Trent Noah and Harlan County 67-58 in the championship game.
A four-star prospect and 2024 Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball, the 6-foot-2 Perry is the state’s all-time scoring leader with 5,481 points. In addition, he is a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Kentucky. The Gatorade award recognizes the top high school athletes for excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community.
Before entering UK this summer, Perry was a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and the BETA club. He also has volunteered locally as a youth basketball coach and referee. He has also donated his time to multiple community service initiatives through his church youth group.
I interviewed Perry recently in Kuttawa where I stayed a couple of nights at the home of longtime friends Bill and Paula Cunningham as I had two book signings in the local area. Since Perry had his Lyon County High School graduation the night before, I wasn’t sure if he would show up for the 8 a.m. interview in the next morning. But he sure did, and I was very impressed. The youngster kept his word. We had our pleasant interview on Cunningham’s front porch overlooking the beautiful Lake Barkley across the street.
Asked how he was feeling that morning as a newly minted high school graduate with a GPA of 4.0, Perry said, “I’m feeling pretty excited. A little bit relieved. I had to do a valedictorian speech. I was worried about that a little bit. A little bit scary with a lot of people there. But I’m mostly excited. It’s been a long time at Lyon County and to be able to graduate, having done so many great things, met so many great people. It’s a lot of fun.”
After signing with the Wildcats in November, Perry said he didn’t really feel extra pressure to perform during his high school senior year.
“Maybe a little bit,” he said with a smile. “The Kentucky fans really, really love their players, really support their players, and so there was increased followings at our games. But still it was just playing basketball, having fun. I tried to keep it as simple as possible and just have fun. Trust the work that I put in and just try and win at all costs, and I think everything else will work itself out.”
Since he was a seventh grader, Perry has played basketball for Lyon County High and his father, Ryan Perry, was the head coach for the last five seasons. The elder Perry believes his son will do well at UK.
Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of six books about UK basketball, including recently-published “Forever Crazy About The Cats: An Improbable Journey of a Kentucky Sportswriter Overcoming Adversity.” He is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine, and a professor at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro. You can follow him on Twitter @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle@gmail.com.“A couple of things stand out to me as a coach that I feel like are going to translate well to the college game and in particular playing at Kentucky (for Travis),” said Coach Perry, who was named the boys’ basketball Coach of the Year by Louisville’s Courier-Journal after guiding the Lions to a stunning 36-3 mark. “First, Travis’ basketball IQ is completely off the chart. He has the ability to slow the game down by using his mind. He seems to always be one step ahead of everyone else on the court and it proves to be an equalizer for him in terms of playing against players that are much bigger, faster and more athletic than he is.
“The second thing is his ability to shoot the basketball. In all honestly the way he can shoot the ball is mind blowing. We have seen him stand in gyms and hit nearly 100 three-point shots in a row without a miss. It’s just amazing. When you add in the fact that he will be on the floor with so many threats that require so much attention, it will open up chances for him to get lower contested shots which could really be a problem for other teams.
“The last thing is the heart he has on the basketball court and the heart he has for Kentucky. Travis is one of the greatest competitors I have ever been around and I have never encountered anyone who hates to lose as much as he does. This drives him so hard to leave it all on the court. When you put on Kentucky jersey on that body, it could be a special thing. I know one thing for sure every minute he is on the floor he will play as hard as he possibly can for his teammates, his coaches, his family and the state of Kentucky.”
Added head coach D.G. Sherrill of Bowling Green High, “Travis is a once-in-a-generation player. He’s extremely dangerous. He scores at all three levels, has great range and is a great facilitator. His team is never out of a game with him on the court.”
In February, Perry gunned in 46 points against Sherrill’s Bowling Green team last season as Lyon County won 90-89 in a two-overtime thriller.
Ryan Perry said Travis is adjusting very well away from home this summer on UK campus.
“He seems to be absolutely loving it,” said the elder Perry. “He has really formed some great relationships with his teammates and he feels things are going very well. It seems like the guys are going to do something whether it be golfing, bowling, fishing or whatever almost every day and lots on weekends. They seem to genuinely enjoy each other. That was good to hear.
“Travis feels like he is doing well with the practices and workouts, as we can all imagine. The speed of the game and size of the other guys are always hard to transition into but Travis feels like he is getting better every day and adjusting to this. I was very surprised last time I was in Lexington and he told me he felt like his shooting had gone to another level. In my mind I was thinking about how elite of a shooter. Travis already was, and a bit taken back by the fact that he felt like he had improved it even more.
“All the stories and social media posts that have been coming out last few weeks and some of the comments by some of his teammates about how well he is shooting the ball would lead me to believe that he in fact has improved his shooting, as hard as that is to believe.”
At a media session last week, Travis Perry was asked if he had been shooting the lights out this summer. He said yes.
So it looks like the Big Blue Nation will be seeing a lot of Perry’s downtown jumpers at Rupp Arena and elsewhere. And that is good to see
