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Travis Perry

Perry will end up being a significant contributor by the time he’s finished, if he stays. The kid never played any man to man defense in high school. They played an aggressive trapping zone, so he’s still learning the ropes about playing man defense. And when he gets comfortable and confident, you’ll see his shooting percentage go way up. The only question to me is, will pope let him shoot mid range pull-ups or will he demand that he drive to the basket. Because Perry is never going to be able to finish around that restricted arc area. He’s too short and doesn’t have the hops. Every 10 times he drives to the basket, he’ll make it or get fouled about twice. The other 8 will be missed or blocked. I just hope that Pope isn’t like Nate Oats, who absolutely forbids that midrange shot. I guess we shall see.
 
I saw him three (3) times ... OFF GUARD !!
Is it fair to say, then, that he was asked to play a role less customary for him this season after Butler when down? If so, then what we saw of him over the past season might not be the best predictor of what he can contribute if freed up to take his shots.
 
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It's hard for me to believe that a scorer like Perry isn't a pure shooter. I'm a Travis Perry fan. I think he can take on Kobe Brea's role. I think if Coach Pope gives him a green light - and I think Pope will give him a green light - Travis will fill it up as a sophomore.
Go 'Cats ! ! !
 
For UK fans it's been a long time since we've seen real freshman grow over 3-4 seasons.

Perry is going to get stronger he has world class facilities and coaches. He clearly can shoot the basketball and fininishing as mentioned will come with experience and strength.

No one is going to fault Perry if he wants to jump ship and get 25+ min a game somewhere else.. but I think having him and Noah for 4 years would be special.
👍
 
Hitting open threes against 5’11 unathletic KY kids is a little different than the athletes he is seeing in the SEC that are closing down on him. But I do think he will adjust and if he hangs in there he will be a solid role player, prob not next year though. I do think Noah has more upside, just has a gift for rebounding.
 
I think Perry's top end potential is a lot better than some here realize. Take 1st team All American Mark Sears as an example. What was he as a college freshman? He wasn't really any better than Perry as a freshman. They're also about the same height and level of quickness and Perry is a much better shooter. What does Sears have that Perry does not have? Strength that can be acquired with time and hard work and a few other skills that can be acquired the same way. Now I think it's unlikely that Perry will ever be as good or better than Mark Sears but it's not impossible.
 
I think Perry's top end potential is a lot better than some here realize. Take 1st team All American Mark Sears as an example. What was he as a college freshman? He wasn't really any better than Perry as a freshman. They're also about the same height and level of quickness and Perry is a much better shooter. What does Sears have that Perry does not have? Strength that can be acquired with time and hard work and a few other skills that can be acquired the same way. Now I think it's unlikely that Perry will ever be as good or better than Mark Sears but it's not impossible.
I’d love for Perry to redshirt this season and go all in on adding weight. There have been NBA players that weren’t amazing athletes that went on to be all time greats. More than one archetype can succeed. I think if Perry was harder to move, I see no reason he can’t be really good.
 
Perry will end up being a significant contributor by the time he’s finished, if he stays. The kid never played any man to man defense in high school. They played an aggressive trapping zone, so he’s still learning the ropes about playing man defense. And when he gets comfortable and confident, you’ll see his shooting percentage go way up. The only question to me is, will pope let him shoot mid range pull-ups or will he demand that he drive to the basket. Because Perry is never going to be able to finish around that restricted arc area. He’s too short and doesn’t have the hops. Every 10 times he drives to the basket, he’ll make it or get fouled about twice. The other 8 will be missed or blocked. I just hope that Pope isn’t like Nate Oats, who absolutely forbids that midrange shot. I guess we shall see.
Pope seems to let Oweh shoot the mid range. My guess is if you prove you can consistently make it, he will allow it.
 
Pope seems to let Oweh shoot the mid range. My guess is if you prove you can consistently make it, he will allow it.
It really needs to depend on the player. For some players it's a very high percentage shot, more so than any contested layup. Tony Delk NEVER missed them! I'm not exaggerating; just check the film.
 
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Pope seems to let Oweh shoot the mid range. My guess is if you prove you can consistently make it, he will allow it.
Yes you’re correct, he does. And as for me, I think I’d rather see Oweh shoot that midrange than go flying in there out of control sometimes. It would be interesting to see what his make percentages are on drives vs midranges. I wonder if the staff keeps a stat for that…
 
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Yes you’re correct, he does. And as for me, I think I’d rather see Oweh shoot that midrange than go flying in there out of control sometimes. It would be interesting to see what his make percentages are on drives vs midranges. I wonder if the staff keeps a stat for that…
It's Mark Pope; count on it.
 
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I’d love for Perry to redshirt this season and go all in on adding weight. There have been NBA players that weren’t amazing athletes that went on to be all time greats. More than one archetype can succeed. I think if Perry was harder to move, I see no reason he can’t be really good.
🤔 🤷‍♂️
 
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I’d love for Perry to redshirt this season and go all in on adding weight. There have been NBA players that weren’t amazing athletes that went on to be all time greats. More than one archetype can succeed. I think if Perry was harder to move, I see no reason he can’t be really good.

🤔 🤷‍♂️
I don’t know what your question is. Was it that I didn’t list some players of various archetypes who succeeded?
 
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Hitting open threes against 5’11 unathletic KY kids is a little different than the athletes he is seeing in the SEC that are closing down on him. But I do think he will adjust and if he hangs in there he will be a solid role player, prob not next year though. I do think Noah has more upside, just has a gift for rebounding.
In the same way that Noah has a gift for rebounding, I have to think Perry has a similar gift as a pure shooter. Remarkably, I think Perry has to learn the same lesson that Kobe Brea had to learn this past season - when you come off a screen in SEC play, you've got to almost be into your shot when you're still engaged with the screener. The point is ... most of the time, in the SEC, the shooter is only open for a split second after the screen. The shooter just has to trust the screen and get into the shot quickly. But on the other hand, the shooter can't be "rushing" the shot. There's a fine line there ... but a great shooter will find that line, and when he does - and gets comfortable with that "faster rhythm" - he's virtually unstoppable.
Just MHO, of course. Go 'Cats ! ! !
 
I’m team Perry like others have said he needs to be Junior year Travis Ford with Mash - he needs to shoot 50% on open look 3’s to stay in the game
He can do it and I think he will
If he gets anywhere near as good as Travis Ford I’d take that in a heartbeat. Ford could play. I think Perry could get there with a lot of work.
 
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For anyone who says Travis Perry CANNOT be good because he is unathletic, I will point out there have been multiple players who succeeded in their basketball careers who were not athletic. Some of them even played in the league.

Well, for starters you have all-time great NBA point guards such as Steve Nash, John Stockton and Mark Price who were not athletic or large and still are recognized as outstanding. As a matter of fact, John Stockton weighed even less in college than Travis Perry.

You can make an argument that Stephen Curry isn’t a great athlete, although I would concede that he has elite speed and quickness. Point still stands that he is far less athletic than many of his peers, yet dominates at a historic level.

You have other guards who had NBA careers despite not being athletic, such as Mark Jackson, Matthew Dellavedova, JJ Barea, Damon Jones and Jimmer Fredette…that’s just naming a few that come to mind.

Movie into other positions, you find that some of the greatest players in the NBA today aren’t even great athletes such as Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. Our own Antoine Walker allegedly was measured at a twenty inch (!!!) vertical leap yet had a very successful NBA career. Brian Scalabrine, Sasha Vujacic, and Peja Stojacovich had NBA careers despite not being athletic. Heck, Matt Bonner — yes, Matt freaking Bonner — who was one of the least athletic players I have ever seen, had a multiple year NBA career.

None of that even includes Larry Bird, who you can debate about athletically. Whether you want to say he was or wasn’t, it was very clear that he beat you playing basketball as fundamentally as anyone and it wasn’t athleticism that made him good.

We’ve also seen some hefty boys succeed in the league as well, such as Robert “Tractor” Traylor and Zach Randolph. The idea that you have to be an athlete is false. It definitely helps, but you can be really good at basketball without athleticism being a feature focus.

In short, no I obviously don’t see Travis Perry ever becoming an NBA player, but there is no reason he can’t be really good in college someday.
 
For anyone who says Travis Perry CANNOT be good because he is unathletic, I will point out there have been multiple players who succeeded in their basketball careers who were not athletic. Some of them even played in the league.

Well, for starters you have all-time great NBA point guards such as Steve Nash, John Stockton and Mark Price who were not athletic or large and still are recognized as outstanding. As a matter of fact, John Stockton weighed even less in college than Travis Perry.

You can make an argument that Stephen Curry isn’t a great athlete, although I would concede that he has elite speed and quickness. Point still stands that he is far less athletic than many of his peers, yet dominates at a historic level.

You have other guards who had NBA careers despite not being athletic, such as Mark Jackson, Matthew Dellavedova, JJ Barea, Damon Jones and Jimmer Fredette…that’s just naming a few that come to mind.

Movie into other positions, you find that some of the greatest players in the NBA today aren’t even great athletes such as Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. Our own Antoine Walker allegedly was measured at a twenty inch (!!!) vertical leap yet had a very successful NBA career. Brian Scalabrine, Sasha Vujacic, and Peja Stojacovich had NBA careers despite not being athletic. Heck, Matt Bonner — yes, Matt freaking Bonner — who was one of the least athletic players I have ever seen, had a multiple year NBA career.

None of that even includes Larry Bird, who you can debate about athletically. Whether you want to say he was or wasn’t, it was very clear that he beat you playing basketball as fundamentally as anyone and it wasn’t athleticism that made him good.

We’ve also seen some hefty boys succeed in the league as well, such as Robert “Tractor” Traylor and Zach Randolph. The idea that you have to be an athlete is false. It definitely helps, but you can be really good at basketball without athleticism being a feature focus.

In short, no I obviously don’t see Travis Perry ever becoming an NBA player, but there is no reason he can’t be really good in college someday.
 
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1st thing I would do if I was Perry is recognize every time I go up to shoot someone is going to try to block my shot unless it's a wide open shot. Players see him and think short white boy. He's not getting that sh!t off against me. So when he's guarded 1 on 1 learn the ball fake. They fly by or you get the foul. Very seldom see the ball fake these days. The step back has taken over but the ball fake can get opponents in foul trouble and you get to the line which allows you to get your eye dialed in.
 
Well, for starters you have all-time great NBA point guards such as Steve Nash, John Stockton and Mark Price who were not athletic or large and still are recognized as outstanding.
I stopped reading your post the moment you claimed Stockton was not athletic. That one line alone killed its credibility.

I don’t know what makes you think that …other than just the fact that he was white and didn’t do high flying dunks …but you couldn’t be more wrong. Stockton was extremely athletic. He was regarded as one of the fastest players in the NBA for his entire career, he had a lightning quick first step, and just about the quickest hands in league history …which helps explain why he got more steals than any player in basketball history.

And Nash and Price also had entirely different gear in their legs that Perry will never be able to match.
 
I stopped reading your post the moment you claimed Stockton was not athletic. That one line alone killed its credibility.

I don’t know what makes you think that …other than just the fact that he was white and didn’t do high flying dunks …but you couldn’t be more wrong. Stockton was extremely athletic. He was regarded as one of the fastest players in the NBA for his entire career, he had a lightning quick first step, and just about the quickest hands in league history …which helps explain why he got more steals than any player in basketball history.

And Nash and Price also had entirely different gear in their legs that Perry will never be able to match.
I see no issue with you believing Stockton is athletic. I disagree but that’s only one aspect of my point and doesn’t get in the way whatsoever of what I was saying.

You could just say you disagree and believe Stockton is athletic without making it out like some crazy hot take. Here are three links to articles that cite Stockton as unathletic.

https://fadeawayworld.net/the-10-greatest-least-athletic-players-in-nba-history

https://thehoopdoctor.wordpress.com/2021/08/15/top-10-most-unathletic-nba-superstars/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nb...n-nba-history/ss-AA1zLXyL?ocid=bingnewssearch
 
I see no issue with you believing Stockton is athletic. I disagree but that’s only one aspect of my point and doesn’t get in the way whatsoever of what I was saying.

You could just say you disagree and believe Stockton is athletic without making it out like some crazy hot take. Here are three links to articles that cite Stockton as unathletic.

https://fadeawayworld.net/the-10-greatest-least-athletic-players-in-nba-history

https://thehoopdoctor.wordpress.com/2021/08/15/top-10-most-unathletic-nba-superstars/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nb...n-nba-history/ss-AA1zLXyL?ocid=bingnewssearch
Well, if I might be presumptuous enough to question sources as credible as “Fadeaway World”, Stockton’s inclusion on those lists is utter nonsense. And I’d guess those articles were probably written by dopes too young to have even seen him play …indeed the only reasoning I see given is essentially just “well, look at him, he’s small, white and skinny…”

There’s likely no stat in basketball more dependent on athleticism than steals. And Stockton got FAR more steals than any player in the history of the sport. Yet they think he somehow did that without athleticism? Idiots.
 
Well, if I might be presumptuous enough to question sources as credible as “Fadeaway World”, Stockton’s inclusion on those lists is utter nonsense. And I’d guess those articles were probably written by dopes too young to have even seen him play …indeed the only reasoning I see given is essentially just “well, look at him, he’s small, white and skinny…”

There’s likely no stat in basketball more dependent on athleticism than steals. And Stockton got FAR more steals than any player in the history of the sport. Yet they think he somehow did that without athleticism? Idiots.
I’m old enough to have watched Stockton. I also didn’t find him to be athletic. Nor did I find Patrick Sparks to be athletic —- he turned out more than ok. I respect that you do not agree. I do not think the people that disagree with me are idiots. No one knows how Perry’s career will turn out —- I simply wanted to express the view of an optimistic outlook but he could be Josh Carrier 2.0, Patrick Sparks 2.0 or Travis Ford 2.0. None of us know. I’ll leave it there for now. God bless!
 
I’m old enough to have watched Stockton. I also didn’t find him to be athletic. Nor did I find Patrick Sparks to be athletic —- he turned out more than ok. I respect that you do not agree. I do not think the people that disagree with me are idiots. No one knows how Perry’s career will turn out —- I simply wanted to express the view of an optimistic outlook but he could be Josh Carrier 2.0, Patrick Sparks 2.0 or Travis Ford 2.0. None of us know. I’ll leave it there for now. God bless!
Sparks is another guy who got underestimated because of the way he looked. He had surprisingly quick and agile feet …at least more so than I’ve seen from Perry.

Fwiw, I mostly agree with the point you were making, I just think you picked poor examples. A better choice would’ve been someone like Steve Kerr. Kerr’s career defied all scouting wisdom. Really slow, small, couldn’t jump, couldn’t drive and really didn’t even dribble all that well. Yet somehow carved out an amazingly long and successful NBA career …with five championships …with his only real assets being three point shooting and smart decision making.
 
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It’s because he’s so small, unless you’re a dynamic athlete that gets up high it’s hard to get those calls sometimes. I think he will be a solid player at some point but his athleticism and size is what it is. That’s why he has a ceiling especially defensively.
As you mention, his defensive growth is going to determine his ceiling. He will be a much better offensive player going forward. He just can’t be a matador on defense. If he can get to an average player on defense, he will be a good offensive player in Pope’s system. I think by year 3, he will be getting 15 mpg., as a combo backup.
 
As far as im concerned travis perry is just a less athletic explosive rebounding clutch shooter as damian lillard....i dont see why he cant work himself into that 🫣😜
 
I think Perry's top end potential is a lot better than some here realize. Take 1st team All American Mark Sears as an example. What was he as a college freshman? He wasn't really any better than Perry as a freshman. They're also about the same height and level of quickness and Perry is a much better shooter. What does Sears have that Perry does not have? Strength that can be acquired with time and hard work and a few other skills that can be acquired the same way. Now I think it's unlikely that Perry will ever be as good or better than Mark Sears but it's not impossible.
Perry is not as quick as Sears and I don't ever see him being as quick. Also left handers are more crafty basketball players than righty's for whatever reason.
 
Perry is not as quick as Sears and I don't ever see him being as quick. Also left handers are more crafty basketball players than righty's for whatever reason.

Well, snapping your head back like you've been rear-ended by a tractor trailer gave Sears an advantage over defenders as well... Sears was good enough that he didn't need to do that nonsense crap, but that also kept defenders off-balance b/c he would flail to draw fouls if defenders even breathed on him.
 
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Perry is not as quick as Sears and I don't ever see him being as quick. Also left handers are more crafty basketball players than righty's for whatever reason.
We disagree about the quickness thing. I'd have to see actual objective data to change my opinion about that.

As for the lefty thing I'd say you are correct about left handers being more crafty as a group due to them being right brain hemisphere dominant and the right brain hemisphere controls spatial awareness and problem solving. However, that does not mean any individual lefty is or will be more crafty than any individual righty.
 
We disagree about the quickness thing. I'd have to see actual objective data to change my opinion about that.

As for the lefty thing I'd say you are correct about left handers being more crafty as a group due to them being right brain hemisphere dominant and the right brain hemisphere controls spatial awareness and problem solving. However, that does not mean any individual lefty is or will be more crafty than any individual righty.

I think it also helps lefties that defenders are in the habit of defending offensive players who are stronger with the right hand. As a result, defenders likely unintentionally give a lefty a little more opening to his dominant hand...even if it's just a little bit
 
For anyone who says Travis Perry CANNOT be good because he is unathletic, I will point out there have been multiple players who succeeded in their basketball careers who were not athletic. Some of them even played in the league.

Well, for starters you have all-time great NBA point guards such as Steve Nash, John Stockton and Mark Price who were not athletic or large and still are recognized as outstanding. As a matter of fact, John Stockton weighed even less in college than Travis Perry.

You can make an argument that Stephen Curry isn’t a great athlete, although I would concede that he has elite speed and quickness. Point still stands that he is far less athletic than many of his peers, yet dominates at a historic level.

You have other guards who had NBA careers despite not being athletic, such as Mark Jackson, Matthew Dellavedova, JJ Barea, Damon Jones and Jimmer Fredette…that’s just naming a few that come to mind.

Movie into other positions, you find that some of the greatest players in the NBA today aren’t even great athletes such as Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. Our own Antoine Walker allegedly was measured at a twenty inch (!!!) vertical leap yet had a very successful NBA career. Brian Scalabrine, Sasha Vujacic, and Peja Stojacovich had NBA careers despite not being athletic. Heck, Matt Bonner — yes, Matt freaking Bonner — who was one of the least athletic players I have ever seen, had a multiple year NBA career.

None of that even includes Larry Bird, who you can debate about athletically. Whether you want to say he was or wasn’t, it was very clear that he beat you playing basketball as fundamentally as anyone and it wasn’t athleticism that made him good.

We’ve also seen some hefty boys succeed in the league as well, such as Robert “Tractor” Traylor and Zach Randolph. The idea that you have to be an athlete is false. It definitely helps, but you can be really good at basketball without athleticism being a feature focus.

In short, no I obviously don’t see Travis Perry ever becoming an NBA player, but there is no reason he can’t be really good in college someday.


I like your posts, and in no way do I mean this to be offensive, but this might be one of the most unhinged, incredibly asinine sports takes I’ve ever read in my entire life. Like to the point where I’m genuinely curious if you’ve ever played basketball before? Like it’s a legitimately dizzying post, so unfathomable and extreme that I assume you not only posted it, but conjured it from your head in order to incite extreme pushback?


Also, with regards to Perry - there is no reason he can’t be a Dominique Hawkins or Ravi Moss that both had great moments in our program.
 
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