Mark Pope 'couldn't have disagreed more' with Travis Perry on transfer decision: "It hurts my soul"

Mark Pope made it clear Travis Perry‘s decision to transfer was entirely his own, admitting he was ‘devastated’ when the Eddyville native told him he was leaving. The UK head coach wanted the in-state guard to see the process through, but instead, Perry felt an intraconference move to Ole Miss was best for his future as a basketball player.

“I think he was on his way to becoming a legend here at Kentucky,” Pope said last week.

Pope dug deeper into Perry’s departure in a follow-up interview with KSR on Thursday, sharing details of their final conversations leading to his decision to enter the portal.

He started by raving about the state’s all-time leading scorer in high school and his future in the sport — nothing but positive things to say about his time coaching Perry or what’s to come for him in Oxford.

“This is the thing, a bunch of things can be true at the same time. Travis Perry is special, special, special,” Pope said. “He’s a big-time basketball player and he’s gonna have a big-time career. He’s gonna be a terrific player and he’s such a joy to coach. He took in information and just wanted to get better and he’s got this seriousness about him that’s pretty unflappable.

“He’s got so many of the components of being a great basketball player and I love coaching him. That’s all true.”

Those positives help explain the pain of his transfer decision, one Pope is comfortable admitting he does not agree with. Perry did not feel he could get what he wanted out of the game of basketball at Kentucky, the head coach believes, while Pope saw a bright future for the 6-1 guard in Lexington.

It doesn’t mean anything about his love for the program or his long-term connection to the Wildcats — one Pope is confident will be permanent, even with his decision to leave.

“When he told me he was leaving — we were actually having an ongoing conversation and I was trying to help him see what I saw. We just didn’t get to the same place. It was devastating to me, it hurts my soul now. I desperately wanted him to stay,” Pope said. “Travis Perry loves Kentucky, so that’s when I say I want to be sensitive — like, he loves Kentucky. I would never want to put words in his mouth, but I think probably he was not feeling super confident about the path for him here at Kentucky, being exactly what he wanted out of the game of basketball, maybe.

“I couldn’t have disagreed with him more on that, but at the end of the day, we’re all just making our best guess.”

Pope was transparent in his true feelings, confident Perry would become a big-time talent as a Rebel playing for Chris Beard, but there is a difference between being a college basketball star and being a Kentucky basketball star.

He thought the Eddyville native could have been the latter, and straying from that path was a shortsighted move he may come to regret decades from now.

“He’s going to go to Ole Miss and have a great career there, he’s going to be a terrific player. All of those things are true,” Pope said. “I just know that being a Kentucky basketball player is so much bigger than being a basketball player. It’s my job to help our guys see that and understand it and feel that. As old people, it’s so much easier for us to see 10 years and 20 and 30 years down the road than it is for young guys.

“Man, it just breaks my heart. But I also love Travis and he’s going to have a great run. All of those things are true.”