'It's unfortunate.' Travis Perry sad to see Kentucky's season end, but excited for '24-25

Kentucky’s 2023-24 season came to a disappointing end on Thursday night, but future Wildcat Travis Perry is already looking forward to what’s in store for his freshman campaign in 2024-25.

On Friday afternoon inside Rupp Arena, Perry, who committed to UK back in November, led the No. 3 Lyon County Lyons into a Sweet 16 quarterfinal matchup against Adair County. And while his future college team won’t be playing again this season, his current high school group remains alive.

Lyon County controlled the second half against Adair County, pulling out an 80-65 win and locking up a spot in Saturday’s semifinals against top-ranked Great Crossing and the Warhawks’ four-star junior center, Malachi Moreno.

Perry finished with a game-high 21 points in the victory, adding two rebounds, five assists, and three steals in 31 minutes of action. It wasn’t his best shooting performance (6-17 from the field, 4-9 from beyond the arc), but the four-star senior guard did what was needed to keep Lyon County’s state championship hopes alive.

Afterward, Perry spoke on Kentucky’s 80-76 season-ending loss to 14-seed Oakland in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. While not quite on the same scale, Perry can relate to what the ‘Cats were going through on Thursday night. He struggled to shoot the ball, much like Kentucky did at times, in Lyon County’s Sweet 16 opener on Wednesday against Ashland Blazer, going 7-17 overall and 1-7 from deep, and it only slightly improved against Adair County.

Especially for someone like Perry, he knows what those Kentucky freshmen were going through on Thursday night — what it feels like to have all eyes on you.

“Obviously it’s tough, you know, being around those guys a lot and seeing how it ended,” Perry said of Kentucky’s season coming to a close. “It’s unfortunate. It’s the same thing I feel like we had on Wednesday. You’re going out there, a lot of pressure on you, a lot of expectations. Shots aren’t falling for you, shots are falling for them, and they just weren’t able to get it back in the end.”

The difference compared to Kentucky? Perry and the Lyons have found ways to overcome the adversity this week. When good looks haven’t been going in for the Lyon County star, who is ranked No. 87 overall in the class of 2024 by the On3 Industry ranking, his teammates have stepped up. The Lyons trailed by seven points in the fourth quarter on Wednesday against Ashland before mounting a late comeback down the stretch.

Perry still has some unfinished business to settle before embarking on his college journey in Lexington. Lyon County will battle Great Crossing in the first Sweet 16 semifinal on Saturday morning. But once his high school career is in the books, he’s shifting his focus entirely to Kentucky.

“But I’m excited,” Perry added. “Excited to get up there (to Kentucky) when this all wraps up. I’ll get a chance to compete with whoever’s there with us and hopefully rewrite it next year.”