"Only so much time to play basketball": Former Kentucky Wildcats guard Travis Perry opens up on his decision to transfer to Ole Miss

Travis Perry has explained the reasons behind his decision to leave his hometown team, the Kentucky Wildcats, and transfer to Ole Miss. The guard was in Kentucky for one season, and he came in with a lot of expectations.

Before enrolling at Kentucky in June 2024, Perry was already a known name in the state after scoring 5,381 points during his high school career at Lyon County High School in Eddyville. He was named “Kentucky Mr. Basketball,” an award that recognizes the top senior in high school basketball in the state.

He decided to remain in the state, signing with the Kentucky Wildcats out of high school, but after his freshman year, the guard decided it was time for a new adventure. He entered the transfer portal and eventually committed to the Ole Miss Rebels.

While it was a tough decision to take given his affinity with his state, Perry knew he had to make the best move for his career, a point he explained in a recent interview, via On3.

“It’s a difficult decision for anybody to get in the portal,” Perry said. “Just felt like, at the end of the day, you’ve got to make the best decision for yourself and your basketball career.

"You only get so much time to do it, only so much time to play basketball. So, I felt like I made the decision that myself and my family felt like was best for my basketball career.”

The 6-foot-1 point guard played 31 games for the Wildcats, but he started just four, averaging 9.8 minutes and 2.7 points per game.

Travis Perry explains why it was easy to choose Ole Miss

Perry had options after entering the transfer portal, but once Ole Miss was in the mix, it was an easy decision. Rebels coach, Chris Beard, recruited Perry in high school, and that was the major key.

“That was definitely very important for me,” Perry said. “The relationship that myself and my family have with him, I feel like, is really strong.

"Whenever I got the portal, I wanted to go somewhere that I knew that I was trusted by the coach, but that also that I could trust them in the same way, and I feel that from the whole staff top to bottom.”

Perry also noted that Beard’s vision matched the expectations he had in mind, as the Rebels look to ‘compete on a high level.’