By Jamie H. Vaught
It was a super special night for Harlan County native and Kentucky freshman Trent Noah.
Even though Wednesday night’s matchup against Kentucky Wesleyan at Rupp Arena was not a regular season opener, it sure was a good feeling to see the 6-foot-5 forward find success during UK’s 123-52 exhibition blowout win.
Noah, who didn’t see action until about the midpoint of the second half, was hot, shooting four of five three-pointers. He finished with 12 points in only nine minutes of action.
“Trent is not shy. It's really great to have him on the floor,” said Kentucky coach Mark Pope in a postgame press conference. “Our guys love him. Everybody on the bench was losing their mind. I thought Kerr (Kriisa) was going to start ripping his clothes off. He was so excited.”
Noah was selected as one of three players UK brought out for postgame media interviews. He has said many times that playing for the Wildcats is a dream come true.
On playing at Rupp Arena, Noah, who led Harlan County High School to the state tournament finals last season at the same venue, “It was awesome. I feel like it came full circle so it’s been really cool. I got to play with my guys back home [Harlan County] and now I get to play with my brothers here so it’s awesome.”
Noah loves being a part of Coach Pope’s system.
“I really credit Coach Pope and all the coaching staff,” said Noah, a four-star prospect who finished as the state’s fifth all-time leading scorer in high school. “They instill confidence in us— and that’s what you need in a shooter— so it’s a fun brand of basketball. It’s fun when you can just go down and shoot threes freely and I feel like it’s fun to watch too, so it’s a win-win.”
The Wildcats unbelievably had 32 assists with only five turnovers against Kentucky Wesleyan.
“I feel like we were making plays for each other all night,” said Noah. “That’s what ultimately makes it fun whether you’re hitting threes or not, making plays for each other [is key]. We had countless times where we had passes for dunks and stuff like that so, whenever you’re playing for other people and our team, that’s what we preach about. It is cool to see it translate to the floor.”
Overall, Pope is very pleased with the play of three freshmen.
“They are a really important part of our team,” said Pope of the first-year rookies. “We are really blessed that we can have three freshmen that could play every minute of the game. I think Travis Perry has been really extraordinary and it's hard to be a point guard for me. I don't know if that's exactly his natural position. TP is playing 15 minutes at the point guard spot. That's really impressive.
“Collin Chandler was excellent tonight. He took a really step forward and he's going to be a special player. Those three freshmen are going to have a big impact on us this year and next year, and it makes you feel good to have those three guys here and know that they are going to continue with this program.”
Perry had five points, five rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes, while Chandler played 18 minutes with six points and four assists.
Overall, eight Wildcats scored in double figures, led by Jaxson Robinson's 19 points. The team hit 21 of 42 on three-point shots for 50 percent.
Kentucky’s second and final exhibition is Tuesday night, October 29, against Minnesota
State Mankato at Rupp Arena. The 7 p.m. (ET) game will be shown on SEC Network+.
UK opens the regular season Monday, Nov. 4, at home against Wright State. The 7 p.m. (ET) contest will be shown on ESPNU.
Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of six books about UK basketball, including recently-published “Forever Crazy About The Cats: An Improbable Journey of a Kentucky Sportswriter Overcoming Adversity.” Now a retired college professor who taught at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro., he is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle@gmail.com.
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