After a Sweet 16 appearance, Mark Pope is ready for year number two in Lexington.
Pope has added quite a few pieces to next season’s roster but lost Kentucky local Travis Perry in the transfer portal to the Ole Miss Rebels.
Pope recently spoke on Perry transferring and it clearly hit him hard when the news became official for the Kentucky Wildcats.
“I was devastated when Travis left. Mostly because I think he is such a special young man. It was devastating to me, personally, because I enjoyed coaching him so much, and I think he has a brilliant upside. I think he was on his way to becoming a legend here at Kentucky,” Pope stated.
Pope must have been very high on Perry to suggest he’d become a Kentucky legend, but the Lyon County native wanted to look for another opportunity.
It’s an opportunity for Perry to get more playing time elsewhere, but he clearly had a strong impact on Pope’s first year at Kentucky.
The former Mr. Kentucky Basketball winner saw his minutes increase throughout the season, appearing in 31 total games.
Perry finished the season in Lexington averaging 2.7 points per game. He’ll now look to make an impact at another SEC home.
