During his first press conference of the offseason, Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope provided an honest, and raw, answer about the departure of freshman guard Travis Perry from the UK program.
Perry — a 6-foot-1 guard from Lyon County who won Kentucky Mr. Basketball honors in 2024 — opted to leave the Wildcats this offseason via the NCAA transfer portal after one season playing at his home state school.
Perry, who is the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky boys high school basketball history and helped lead Lyon County to the 2024 Sweet 16 state championship, was a late entry to the transfer portal.
His decision came just hours before the deadline to do so on April 22. During the 2024-25 season, Perry made four starts and played in 31 total games for the Cats.
“I was devastated when Travis left,” Pope said Tuesday afternoon inside Memorial Coliseum. “Mostly because I think he’s such a terrific young man. I think he’s a really, really special person. I think he’s got an old soul and he’s full of wisdom and he’s just everything that you want in a young man and a player.”
On May 4, Perry announced his commitment to SEC school Ole Miss.
“He’s a big-time basketball player. He’s a great talent,” Pope added about Perry, who averaged 2.7 points in 9.8 minutes per game for Kentucky last season.
“It was certainly devastating to me personally because I enjoy coaching him so much. I feel like he has a brilliant upside. I think he was on his way to becoming a legend here at Kentucky. That made me sad. But he’s going to find a path that works for him and it’s going to be positive. But that was a tough one for us.”
