Travis Perry is not ready for Kentucky basketball, and here’s why

A lot of fans thought that this would be the time to see Travis Perry, a true rookie and local high school hero, after Lamont Butler hurt his ankle. It didn’t happen, though. Then Kerr Kriisa hurt himself during the Gonzaga game and had to be taken off. The only other point guard on the team must have come into the game, right? It still didn’t happen, though. He played for a total of two minutes against Gonzaga.

It seemed like Mark Pope, the head coach of Kentucky, knew something that the people didn’t: that Travis Perry wasn’t ready. Before the Colgate game, when both Butler and Kriisa couldn’t go, it was thought that Perry would play for a long time, since Colgate was a bad team. He didn’t get to start, but he did come in with the Wildcats ahead 12-0.

He played for a long time until Colgate started to get better. During a time when Chandler and Perry were both true rookies, the Raiders went on a big run while Kentucky went cold. Pope chose to put his stars back in to stop the damage. It wasn’t quite right the rest of the night.

We saw a lot of Perry during that stretch, and it became clear why Pope was leaving him out of games and starting other players, like Jaxson Robinson, at point guard instead. Perry isn’t ready yet, and this is why:

Speed of the Game vs. Speed of Practice

Fans of Kentucky have seen him in shootarounds, practice clips, and short games against weak teams. Even though he can shoot like the lights are on, he was cold and played with an odd hustle in the Colgate game. He made no four shots from the field and no three-point shots.

We often see true students who aren’t ready and walk-ons make up for “being behind” with hustle. He worked hard to catch up to plays all the time. He was definitely trying to get where he needed to go and avoid screens. Still, the game sped him up. He was going too fast for his comfort level. Get him ready for the game by giving him more games like this and more reps that are faster.

Flow vs. Force

He was really eager to make a move. He wanted Rupp Arena to blow up for a play that he either helped make or made himself. He was making “flashy” passes when he didn’t need to. He didn’t let his shots flow naturally; instead, he pushed them. The difference between his game and the one we saw when he won the three-point contest at Big Blue Madness was this. He wasn’t letting his body shoot the shot; he was forcing it. His shots looked smooth at Big Blue Madness, but they looked forced when he played Colgate.

People know he’s good, and Pope keeps telling them so. But he’s not ready yet, and that’s fine. He needs to learn how to play the game and let it go. He shouldn’t try to force the game to happen; he should let it happen freely. This will be the next step in his growth.