by LARRY VAUGHT
He is not being mentioned as one of the prominent players on next year’s Kentucky team but sophomore guard Trent Noah of Harlan County certainly has the support of teammates and coaches.
“I think the expectations for Trent are very high, because of his skill set,” Collin Chandler, another sophomore guard, said. “And you can’t really look back on last year. I mean, you can look at what he’s done — the potential he shows — but he’s going to be a completely different player. A better player.
“He’s had months to work on his game. And I think everyone in Kentucky knows what Trent is capable of, and so I think he’s just going to continue to get better. And he’s always exciting to watch.
“Even if there were times where me and him weren’t playing in games, there’s a lot of things behind the scenes that people don’t see. And the spurts that he shows.”
Coach Mark Pope said when the season ended that Noah had made tremendous strides on the defensive end considering he basically only played zone defense in high school.
Pope recalled late in the season when he had Noah guarding Alabama’s Mark Sears, the 2023-24 SEC Player of the Year.
‘When he first got here, the speed and athleticism was shocking to him and every day, he picked up more and more and more. By the end of season, he just felt like he belonged.”
Pope also expects Noah to be better “off the bounce” as a sophomore and be more physical on both offense and defense.
“I think he’s going to get better and more creative with what he’s doing in terms of his reads. He’s going to be a tremendous player,” Pope said.
The coach asked Noah to add weight during the offseason and he has. Noah believes that will help his overall play.
“The SEC is a monster. So I mean, you go in there, you’re playing really big, athletic players every game,” Noah said. “You have to be able to match that and it (more weight) should make that easier for me.”
