After standout summer, in-state Kentucky recruit Travis Perry settles in before junior season

Soon after the Kentucky men’s basketball program sealed the commitment of a top in-state recruit (Reed Sheppard) in the class of 2023, the focus of the UK fan base has shifted toward another Kentuckian impressing on the hardwood as a high schooler.

The parallels between Sheppard and class of 2024 point guard Travis Perry are more in context than basketball skills.

Both are backcourt players for their respective Kentucky high schools, North Laurel (Sheppard) and Lyon County (Perry).

Both helped lead their teams to UK HealthCare Boys’ Sweet 16 appearances last season in Rupp Arena.

Both have experienced the pressure of being recruited by the prestigious flagship university in their basketball-crazed state.

And both will get another up-close look at this on Friday night, as Perry and Sheppard are part of a head-turning list of young basketball talent that will visit Kentucky for Big Blue Madness, the preseason event that serves as the kickoff for both the UK men’s and women’s basketball seasons. It starts at 7 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.

Sheppard committed to Kentucky last November — following in the footsteps of his parents, UK basketball greats Jeff Sheppard and Stacey Reed Sheppard — and explained that it’s a dream for young boys in Kentucky to play basketball for the Wildcats.

Reed’s father, Jeff, said former UK in-state stars like Rex Chapman, Richie Farmer and John Pelphrey had all reached out to offer advice on the distinct situation of being a star basketball recruit in the commonwealth with a Kentucky offer.

The next player to navigate this situation is Perry, a 6-2, 170-pound point guard.

Perry’s father, Ryan, is the head basketball coach at Lyon County, too.

“Obviously, Kentucky is a great offer for any kid, not just a Kentucky kid. It’s a staple offer for any kid, that’s one of the biggest ones you can get in the country,” Ryan Perry told the Herald-Leader on Wednesday night. “There’s a lot of respect that goes with that name and all that kind of stuff and Travis is aware of that. He’s doing the same thing, he’s building a relationship with Coach Cal and those coaches up there, like he’s building a relationship with all these schools that he’s really serious about.”

The number of schools interested in Travis grew exponentially over the summer, with the Titans-Rockets Summer Shootout high school basketball showcase in Shelbyville being the catalyst.

Scholarship offers flowed in following the event, which displayed Travis’ high-level scoring and passing abilities.

“It seems like in about the span of a couple, two or three weeks, that his recruitment just kind of turned upside down,” Ryan explained. “It’s funny, some people who have been in these shoes before had kind of warned us, his AAU coach was one, he was telling us, ‘This is fixing to blow up to where you’re going to look back in six weeks and not believe the difference in his recruitment.’ That is really kind of how it happened.”

So what have high-major college programs — schools including Michigan, Purdue and Kentucky — all noticed about Travis’ game in recent months?

“What sticks out most (is) his functional strength in the backcourt, his confidence and assertiveness as a decision maker, as well as his balance as an athlete and mover,” said Matt McKay Jr., the founder of the Pro Insight basketball website and someone with scouting experience in two NBA front offices. “He blends scoring and distributing effectively, as well.”

“He’s not just a specialist, he’s not camping out on the perimeter catching and shooting, he’s not a driveway shooter. He can create his own shot. He’s a fantastic passer,” added Rob Cassidy, who covers recruiting nationally for Rivals.

Since Travis’ recruitment blew up over the summer, Ryan has seen an increased focus from his son, who also has a chance to finish his high school career as the all-time career points leader in Kentucky boys’ basketball history.

Ryan said his son has been more focused since Sept. 9 — when the current college basketball recruiting period began — than ever before.

“We’re trying to make it back to the state tournament with Lyon County again. To get up there and make a little bit more noise is our team goal, and Travis has really embraced that,” Ryan said. “He’s working super, super hard and it helps whenever you’ve got a nice traffic of Power Five or high-major schools in the gym, watching workouts and stuff like that. I think he’s using that as motivation.”

But, of course, of all the schools showing an interest in Travis — who visited Michigan and Purdue in September, and Vanderbilt just a few weeks ago — Kentucky is the one attracting the most attention.

“He’s a fan of Kentucky, he’s a fan of that coaching staff,” Ryan said. “He’s been up there a couple of times and had good visits.”

One of those visits came last week, when the Perrys stopped in for a UK practice.

As Travis shifts into the role of becoming the latest prized basketball recruit from Kentucky who has the Wildcats as a college option, it remains to be seen how many other high-major programs will devote resources and time toward pulling him away from the state.

While noting that he has no way of predicting what will occur, Cassidy — the national basketball reporter for Rivals — explained that sometimes a recruitment that comes with attachments never fully develops.

“It depends how much (other schools) assume that this kid that grew up in Kentucky is definitely going to Kentucky, now that Kentucky’s offered,” Cassidy said. “Sometimes coaches will just convince themselves of that. You see it a lot with kids that have brothers on teams, or kids that have dads that went to school somewhere. Their recruitment will never really become what it may have, just because a lot of coaches don’t feel like sinking the resources into it is necessarily conducive.”

It remains to be seen what will become of Travis’ recruitment, but all the connections and logistics are in place for the Wildcats to continue to make their pitch, with Friday night being the next opportunity.

“He’s really doing his research, but he’s a fan of Kentucky,” Ryan reiterated.

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