Kentucky basketball's younguns growing up when Cats need them most

Kentucky basketball’s younguns growing up when Cats need them most | C.L. Brown

Posted by author February 12, 2025 Basketball

LEXINGTON — If it weren’t for Kentucky basketball’s many injuries, freshmen Trent Noah and Travis Perry may not have played any meaningful minutes in a men’s basketball game that mattered this season.

UK doesn’t live in that wonderland of an entirely healthy roster and hasn’t since December, when guard Kerr Kriisa went out against Gonzaga with a foot injury. He hasn’t played since, paving the way for Perry to play out of necessity.

Noah was forced into action when forward Andrew Carr’s back problems caused him to miss the Wildcats’ loss at Vanderbilt. Noah has played double-digit minutes in five of the last six games.

It doesn’t matter how the Cats arrived at playing their pair of homegrown freshmen; they’re at the point in the season where there’s no time for baby steps, they have to deliver as if they’ve been in the lineup all along.

Noah and Perry proved in No. 18 Kentucky’s 75-64 win over No. 4 Tennessee that they’re growing up when the team needs them the most.

It wasn’t quite a must-win game against the Volunteers. But with the Cats having lost four of six games entering Tuesday and the seemingly revolving door of injuries forcing coach Mark Pope to mix and match lineups, UK needed something to feel good about.

Noah and Perry helped make sure that was the case.

Noah, a 6-foot-5 forward from Harlan, made three 3-pointers in the first half and finished with season highs with both 11 points and 19 minutes played. His one assist was to Eddyville’s own, as Perry made the second of two 3s for his season high of eight points.

This column will be updated.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.