Could Travis Perry be a better shooter than Reed Sheppard?
![Recruit Travis Perry waves to the crowd during University of Kentucky’s men’s basketball coach Mark Pope’s introductory press conference on Sunday, April 14, 2024. Recruit Travis Perry waves to the crowd during University of Kentucky’s men’s basketball coach Mark Pope’s introductory press conference on Sunday, April 14, 2024.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_6929,h_3897,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/wildcats_today/01j3jvzzjzd1jn4501kf.jpg)
Anytime you compare the shooting ability of a player to Reed Sheppard, it is bold, but could Kentucky freshman Travis Perry end up being a better shooter than Sheppard? The Houston Rockets just spent their third overall pick on Sheppard, and in the NBA Summer League, he was lights out, averaging 20 points a game. The former Wildcat even earned First Team All-NBA Summer League honors.
People will always be quick to compare Sheppard and Perry as they are both elite shooters from the Bluegrass State but watch out because Perry is turning heads early into his career in Lexington.
Recently, the UK Manager's X/Twitter page posted a photo showing Perry made 100/100 free throws at practice and went on to say that he shot 90% from three.
At another recent media window, Kentucky power forward Andrew Carr told the media that Perry recently made 59 three-point shots in a row.
Now, at the end of the day, Perry will have to prove that in a game with a player guarding him he can be a knockdown shooter, but there is a world where Perry can be one of the best shooters in college basketball.
Heading into the offseason, it didn't feel like Perry would have a big role this season, but over the last few weeks, hype has been growing that the freshman from Lyon County could see a significant role.
Whenever Perry does have a role for Kentucky, he could make a run at some of Sheppard's shooting records, which led to him being a top-three pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.