Travis Perry's path with Kentucky basketball isn't Reed Sheppard's. That's OK

Travis Perry’s path with Kentucky basketball isn’t Reed Sheppard’s. That’s OK | C.L. Brown

Posted by author January 22, 2025 Basketball

Kentucky men’s basketball freshman Travis Perry is playing the role that Reed Sheppard was supposed to occupy as a homegrown talent who grew up before our eyes.

Sheppard, of course, had an accelerated timetable in his one season at UK. He outperformed expectations and ended up being the third overall pick in last year’s NBA draft. He made this look easy.

Perry is finding out it is not. The trials and challenges he’s facing now will be good for him just the same.

Perry is averaging 7.1 minutes per game in SEC play and has appeared in each of the Wildcats’ last 10 games since he was thrown into the rotation as a backup point guard when Kerr Kriisa was injured last month.

“It’s one of the great things about coaching and being fans that are really invested, which BBN is,” UK coach Mark Pope said. “You get to actually see the beginning, the middle and the growth that we get to prognosticate about where they are going and to see these guys grow is special, and TP is definitely doing that.”

Perry and Sheppard were similarly ranked out of high school. Sheppard was No. 79 nationally in the Class of 2023, according to 247Sports. Perry was No. 88 in the Class of 2024.

Players closer to 100 than one aren’t supposed to occupy much space in the notes of pro scouts after a season. They’re supposed to be the kind of throwback players who will need to develop in college over multiple years before even thinking an NBA career is realistic.

Sheppard blew up that model. He was the son of UK’s own love and basketball story, starring former UK hoopers Jeff and Stacey (Reed) Sheppard. A legacy player who loved the Cats and was going to be unlike the one-and-dones recruited by former coach John Calipari in the class.

Sheppard was going to be around for a while until he moved from an intriguing draft prospect to an inevitable lottery pick.

Perry’s on the more traditional path. He’s talented enough to play at UK but not so much that he’s a threat to leave early to turn pro. Whether he’ll spend all his eligibility in Lexington is a different conversation, but right now, it’s about the small victories, getting better incrementally and showing progress through it all.

When starting point guard Lamont Butler injured his shoulder early in the second half of Kentucky’s win over Texas A&M, Perry was thrust into playing more than usual. He showed his mettle, making two 3-pointers for a season-high six points.

“(I’m) definitely getting more comfortable,” Perry said. “I keep saying going against Lamont every day makes me a lot better, and I think it is making the game easier.”

The Eddyville native — who became the state’s all-time leading scorer while playing for Lyon County High School —looks very much like a throwback to the days when fans witnessed their favorite players mature over the course of four years.

But along with the signs of progress come signs that he’s very much a freshman.

Perry continues to be tested by opponents who single him out to exploit defensively.

One recent example came when Alabama’s Mark Sears would go at him every time he got the matchup. Bama coach Nate Oats didn’t say Perry by name afterward, but he was definitely one of the “seals” Oats wanted his team to attack like “killer whales.”

Those games are going to happen. Pope has been encouraged by what he’s seen from Perry either way.

“He’s got no fear; he’s just going out to play,” Pope said. “It’s fun. If you chart his trajectory you get to see these little steps that he’s taking; we all get to see it.”

As much as attention spans have shortened and patience is more of a wish than a virtue, it’s a bit refreshing to see a freshman be a freshman. And the best thing about it? Perry’s going to be a sophomore.

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.