To an elite list in Kentucky basketball history, you can add Trent Noah

From the time many a Kentucky child is old enough to dribble a basketball, a two-pronged goal animates their dreams.

The first part is to become a statewide hoops star while leading their local high school to a Kentucky state championship at Rupp Arena. The second component of the dream is to parlay that Sweet 16 star turn into a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky.

Back in March, Harlan County star Trent Noah came up one agonizing defeat short of leading his team to the 2024 Kentucky boys basketball state tournament championship as the Black Bears fell to Lyon County 67-58 in the state finals.

However, the scintillating showing the 6-foot-7, 200-pound wing produced at Rupp Arena in four state tournament games — averaging 32.3 points and 10 rebounds — ultimately propelled Noah to the second part of the Kentucky basketball “holy grail.” It was announced Wednesday that Noah is now the newest player on Mark Pope’s roster at UK.

In the UK news release that announced the ex-Harlan County star’s signing, the new Kentucky head man said Noah “is one of the elite shooters in this class. He is a tough, hard-nosed player with a special physicality. As an Eastern Kentucky native, Trent will bring a grit, toughness and determination to the (UK) program that is representative of this state.”

There were, obviously, some complicated twists and turns in Noah’s path to getting the opportunity to play for his home state’s flagship university. After the previous UK coaching staff helmed by John Calipari showed scant interest in recruiting Noah, he signed in the early signing period with Kentucky’s SEC rival, South Carolina.

So for Noah to have a chance to play at UK in 2024-25, there first had to be a coaching change at Kentucky. Then, Noah had to get a release from his national letter of intent from South Carolina. With all that, it’s hard to imagine Noah would have attracted the recruiting focus of the new Kentucky coaching staff had he not lit up Rupp in March in the Sweet 16.

Over four state tournament games, Noah scored 129 points. He grabbed 40 rebounds, made 39 of 68 shots, 19 of 34 treys and 32 of 36 free throws.

In an epic 85-71 overtime win over Campbell County in the state quarterfinals, Noah made 16 of 23 shots, 7 of 10 3-pointers and all nine of his foul shots while rifling in 48 points. That showing will stand in Kentucky high school hoops lore as one of the great individual performances ever in a state tournament game.

My first-hand memory of basketball in Kentucky goes back to the the early 1970s. In that time, Noah is the fourth player I recall to have propelled himself to a UK men’s basketball scholarship off of a stellar showing in one state tournament.

▪ Troy McKinley. When the Simon Kenton forward came to Rupp Arena for the 1981 state tourney, he had one scholarship offer — Northern Kentucky. After McKinley led the Pioneers to an unexpected state title by averaging 29.3 points over four games, the 6-6 senior started getting recruiting calls from big hoops brands such as Kansas, Louisville and Kentucky — whose scholarship offer he accepted.

At UK, McKinley didn’t get much playing time until his senior season (1984-85), when he averaged seven points a game while providing an outside shooting threat on a team built around the inside play of Kenny Walker.

▪ Antwain Barbour. The unsung Elizabethtown forward led the Panthers to the 2000 state title by averaging 26 points in four Sweet 16 contests. The 6-5 Barbour likely earned Tubby Smith and UK’s attention with an explosive Saturday of state tournament play.

Barbour scored 42 points in a state semifinals win over Russellville early on Saturday, then came back with 31 against Lexington Catholic in the championship game that night.

After beginning his college career at Wabash Valley Community College in Illinois, Barbour spent his final two seasons (2002 through 2004) at UK, where he scored 259 career points.

▪ Dominique Hawkins. Entering the 2013 Sweet 16, the Madison Central guard seemed headed to Western Kentucky to play in college. After averaging 26.8 points and 8.8 rebounds in the state tourney while leading coach Allen Feldhaus Jr.’s Indians to the title, however, Hawkins caught the attention of Calipari and received a UK scholarship offer.

At Kentucky, Hawkins persevered through injuries and limited playing opportunities early in his career to become the sixth man on an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight team in 2016-17. In the 2017 NCAA tourney, Hawkins averaged 8.8 points and hit 12 of 17 field goals, 7 of 11 3-pointers.

As for Noah, the ex-Harlan County star seems an ideal fit for Pope’s offensive approach, with its metrics-driven emphasis on 3-point shooting.

While averaging 29.9 points a game last season for Harlan County, Noah cashed 43 percent of his trey attempts and 56 percent of his field-goal tries overall.

Whatever happens at UK, the fact that Noah’s stellar 2024 state tournament ultimately yielded a Wildcats scholarship offer keeps alive into another generation one of our state’s foundational hoops dreams.

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