On Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Rupp Arena, new Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope speaks with the media during his inaugural press conference.
Pope was introduced in Lexington to a raucous reception. The first is to lead their local high school to a Kentucky state title at Rupp Arena and establish oneself as a statewide basketball star. The second part of the dream is to leverage the Sweet 16 standout into a University of Kentucky scholarship offer.
The Black Bears lost to Lyon County 67-58 in the state finals back in March, and Trent Noah, a standout player from Harlan County, was only one heartbreaking loss away from guiding his team to the 2024 Kentucky boys basketball state tournament championship. But in the end, Noah’s incredible performance at Rupp Arena—averaging 32.3 points and 10 rebounds—in four state tournament games—propelled him to the second round of the Kentucky basketball “holy grail.” He is 6 feet 7 inches and 200 pounds. Noah is officially the newest player on Mark Pope’s roster at UK, it was confirmed on Wednesday.
The new Kentucky head coach stated that Noah “is one of the elite shooters in this class” in the UK press release announcing the signing of the former Harrison County standout. He is a unique physical player who is tough and hard-nosed.
Trent, who was born in Eastern Kentucky, will offer to the (UK) programme a grit, tenacity, and dedication that is a testament to this state. Obviously, Noah’s journey to be able to play for the premier university in his own state was not without its challenges.
Therefore, a coaching change at Kentucky was necessary before Noah would get the opportunity to play at UK in 2024–2025. Then, Noah needed to obtain from South Carolina a release from his national letter of intent. Considering all of things, it’s difficult to believe Noah would have drawn attention from the new Kentucky coaching staff in the recruiting process if he hadn’t destroyed Rupp in the Sweet 16 in March.
Noah scored 129 points in four games during the state tournament. At the free throw line, he made 32 of 36 attempts, 19 of 34 three-pointers, and 40 rebounds. Trent Noah (2), a wing for the New Kentucky Wildcats, led Harlan County to the state finals in the 2024 Kentucky Boys Sweet 16 with an average of 32.3 points and 10 rebounds.
Noah scored 48 points and sank 16 of 23 shots, 7 of 10 3-pointers, and all nine of his foul shots in an incredible 85-71 overtime victory over Campbell County in the state quarterfinals. That performance will go down in Kentucky high school basketball history as one of the best individual efforts in a state tournament game ever. My first memories of playing basketball in Kentucky date back to the first part of the 1970s. Noah is the fourth player I can think of in that period who, after a dominant performance in a single state tournament, rocketed to a UK men’s basketball scholarship.
