Has anyone had a more talked about summer than Kentucky freshman guard Travis Perry? Probably not — and for good measure.
The first-year guard came to Lexington with the reputation of being a fantastic shooter. And through a little over a month, he’s living up to that … and more.
Earlier this month it was reported that Perry hit 59 straight 3s in practice. Yes, 59 straight. That’s almost Steph Curry-esque.
But this time, it’s even crazier. Like, really.
This week a tweet was posted — then deleted — that Perry went 100-for-100 from the free throw line in addition to shooting 90 percent from three … on the same day. Well, Perry seemed to confirm that when talking with members of the Kentucky media.
“It’s pretty accurate,” Perry said. “I would say it’s accurate, yeah. That was a solid number. We had to hit 100 free throws and 100 threes. I had three days in a row I got 100-100 free throws.”
This shouldn’t be a surprise — even if the numbers are absolutley absurd. Perry scored 5,481 points in his high school career while shooting 41.7 percent from three last year.
And ever since he got on campus you can find him in one place. The gym.
“I like to get between 500 and 1,000 (shots) a day just depending on — I’m trying to get it up in the summer when we’re a little more free and have some more time,” Perry said. “Get bored a lot so instead of watching some youtube or something, come over here and get 300 shots and it’s a better use of time. So trying to get in that habit.”
His work ethic is easily noticeable from his teammates. And he received some high praise from guys who have been around college basketball quite some time.
Both Kerr Kriisa — a fifth-year point guard — and Amari Williams — a fifth-year center — spoke on Perry’s shooting.
“Travis is phenomenal. I dont know, I’ve had some pretty good shooters around me but he’s definitely up there,” Kriisa said. “He’s very — he works hard, man. He really does. He’s in the gym. Yesterday I think he went four times. We get a massage and next thing you know he shoots again after the massage. He’s in the gym and the results are showing.”
“Travis Perry — I think in my four years, I’ve seen a lot of great shooters,” Williams added. “We’re doing a shooting test this week and his numers are like — I think a lot of people think we’re joking when we’re saying it. But like nah, we’re being serious. His shooting numbers are crazy.”
