With his UK basketball future on the horizon, Travis Perry has Lyon County dreaming big

The Travis Perry basketball tour has logged some significant miles in recent weeks.

The standout class of 2024 guard is already a legend in Kentucky high school basketball circles: In March, the Lyon County star became the all-time leading scorer in boys basketball history in the commonwealth.

Perry’s subsequent decision to commit to and sign with the in-state Wildcats as his college basketball choice in November only added to the hoopla surrounding him.

But the 6-foot-2 Perry — a four-star recruit who is part of UK’s five-player recruiting class for next season — has begun his senior season with the Lyons by continuing to produce for the high school squad currently viewed as the favorite to win the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16 state tournament in March.

From a 30-point performance in a historic, throwback game at Wayland Gymnasium in Eastern Kentucky to a two-game scoring barrage against out-of-state opponents at the nationally known City of Palms Classic in Florida, Perry delivers each time he takes the court, and against any team Lyon County faces.

The latest stop for the high-scoring, up-tempo Lyon County show was right here in Lexington.

The Lyons (12-1) are on a nine-game winning streak after blitzing through the competition at the White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic last week at Lexington Catholic High School.

And who else would be leading the way but Perry, who put up the following stat lines across Lyon County’s four games in the showcase event.

▪ 28 points and four rebounds in a 97-41 win over Bourbon County.

▪ 24 points in an 82-69 win over DeSales.

▪ 26 points and five rebounds in an 86-65 win over Frederick Douglass.

▪ 33 points, five rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers in an 83-63 win over host school, and previously unbeaten, Lexington Catholic in Saturday night’s championship game.

“Just letting it come to me. And whenever I finally got the shots, just hitting them,” said Perry of his approach to that 33-point outing in the title game.

“That’s kind of the difference: Just be patient, take the shots when they come.”

Unsurprisingly after all this — which came out to tournament averages of 27.8 points, 6.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 45% 3-point shooting for Perry — he took home MVP honors from the event.

Perry has now scored more than 4,700 points in his high school career (he’s been a varsity starter since seventh grade).

These impressive outings came just a few days after Lyon County captured the Small-Town Signature Series title at City of Palms with wins by 24 and 31 points. In those two games against Lexington (South Carolina) and Buckhorn (Alabama), Perry combined for 67 points.

This success has come for Perry despite facing seemingly every kind of defensive tactic imaginable from opponents in the pursuit of limiting his effectiveness: Face guarding, double teams and various other ball denial tactics have been employed against him.

They don’t seem to matter.

“For me it’s just about making the right play every time,” Perry said. “Not forcing anything.”

That Perry has continued to perform at a high level on a team with legit state championship aspirations is one thing. But it’s even more impressive once you factor in the increased attention and scrutiny that comes once you’ve signed to play college basketball at Kentucky, in particular as a native of the commonwealth and the almost-assured winner of the state’s Mr. Basketball award.

UK head coach John Calipari and current Wildcats players frequented LexCath’s Bueter Gym during last week’s tournament to watch Perry play.

Saturday’s championship game between LexCath and Lyon County featured a near-capacity crowd, and the blue-and-white colors found among spectators were largely reflective of UK gear worn by fans catching a glimpse of the future Wildcat.

Perry prepares for state tournament run, college basketball at Kentucky

There’s plenty left for Perry and his talented Lyon County team to accomplish over the next few months.

For one, the Lyons have embraced the chance to become only the second team to win both an All “A” Classic small-school state championship and the Sweet 16 championship (Shelby Valley in 2010).

But looking further into the future to Perry’s arrival at UK, it’s easy to see some advantages in the way Lyon County plays that could help Perry at the college level.

The Lyons’ breakneck offensive pace — and Perry’s offensive prowess — has forced him to become creative when trying to get into shooting spots and foil the distinct defensive game plans designed to stop him.

Perry’s secret is near-constant movement. He’s always going somewhere with or without the ball, and opponents often don’t have the conditioning to stick with Perry for the 30-plus minutes he plays each game.

“I kind of hang my hat on just moving all the time,” Perry said. “... Just moving around, making it difficult on them. Not only does it kind of wear them down late in the game, but it also gives you advantages.”

While Perry acknowledges that an adjustment to the pace of college basketball is still to be expected later this year (although it didn’t take last year’s Mr. Basketball, North Laurel’s Reed Sheppard, much time to do so at Kentucky), he already presented scenarios in which Lyon County’s playing style could prove fruitful for him with the Wildcats.

“Just kind of being prepared for it, being ready to play hard minutes,” Perry said. “In the SEC especially, you’re not going to go in there and be able to take a play off. Like (now), here and there I’ll be able to take a play off on defense, just sit at the top of the zone or something like that. (In the SEC), you’re going to have a 6-5 dude driving at you and if you don’t stop him he’s going to pull up for 3. And if you stop him he’s going to drive around you and dunk it.

“It’s just going to be a lot different, but just knowing that the conditioning is there, that I play long games ... is really good for our team, and that’s something that will help us in the long run.”

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