Jamie Vaught: Kentucky Freshman Trent Noah ‘thrilled’ to don blue and white for hometown Wildcats

Over the years, Harlan County has produced many high school stars who have moved on and played college basketball.

But only a handful of them have played for a NCAA Division I men’s team. Players like Wah Wah Jones (Kentucky), Dick Parsons (Kentucky), Phil Cox (Vanderbilt) and Charles Thomas (Minnesota), to name a few.

And we can add Harlan County High’s Trent Noah, a first-team all-stater who is beginning his freshman season at UK, to that impressive list.

During his senior year at Harlan County, the 6-foot-5 Noah, who finished his prep career as the state’s all-time fifth-leading scorer with 3,707 career points, helped the 34-5 Black Bears reach a state runner-up spot. His team also became the first school from eastern Kentucky to advance to the state finals since 2011.

“Trent Noah is one of the elite shooters in this class,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said when Noah signed with the Wildcats in early May. “He is a tough, hard-nosed player with a special physicality.”

About two weeks later, I caught up with Noah for an interview during his lunch break at HCHS.

The four-star prospect was asked who has helped him the most over the years in becoming an outstanding player.

“I would say my dad (Dondi Noah),” he said. “It’s been me and my dad for as long as I can remember. We just worked as hard as we could and tried to learn from other people and just kind of started from the ground up.”

A retired history teacher who taught at Harlan County High, the elder Noah recently served as an assistant basketball coach for the Black Bears for one season, his son’s senior year.

As you’ll recall, before coming to Kentucky, Noah had signed with South Carolina back in November. He later decommitted from the Gamecocks in early May after UK hired Pope as the new coach after John Calipari left for Arkansas.

A lifelong Kentucky Wildcat fan, Noah is sure glad things finally worked out for him and he is tickled to death about coming to UK. It’s a dream come true, he said.

“It was super special,” Noah said of signing with the hometown Wildcats. “It was a special moment for me and my family. It was always a dream of mine to play basketball at the University of Kentucky and then to share it with my grandfather (Charles “Perky” Bryant who played football at UK) was super cool as well. I’m just so thrilled that I’ll be wearing the blue and white.”

Said longtime sports journalist John Henson of Harlan County, “I couldn’t tell you how many times I walked by the gym in the evenings, at any point of the year, and noticed Trent in there shooting with his dad. He put in as much time as anyone I’ve covered through the years.

“I never saw him lose his temper or composure during a game or even show a hint of being aggravated or upset with a teammate or coach. He was always focused on doing his job and whatever was needed to win. He rarely ever showed any emotion on the court, but he took his game and intensity up a level in the postseason this past year with some huge plays in the regional and state tournaments. I think he knew it was up to him to make a play, and his teammates fed off that leadership and emotion when their season was on the line.

“Trent’s 48-point game against Campbell County in the quarterfinals of the state tournament was the most amazing performance I’ve witnessed in 40 years of high school basketball coverage. He hit big shot after big shot when his team was probably one miss away from elimination. It was surreal to watch a gym full of people at Rupp Arena slowly become Harlan County and Trent Noah fans during the course of that game and week. It was very difficult for me to put into words what I had watched when it was over, and it was a tournament and performance I will never forget.”

Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley praised Noah’s hard work and academics.

“Trent Noah is a wonderful young man, a phenomenal athlete, and an incredible student leader,” said Mosley. “I’m thrilled this opportunity to live his dream of playing for the Kentucky Wildcats is coming to fruition. The work he has put in on the court has made this possible.

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 .

“He is a role model for our youth. This is exciting for the people of Harlan County and Eastern Kentucky to have another young man to move on to UK to cheer for. I know Big Blue Nation is going to love Trent as much as we do in Harlan County. I can’t wait to see the type of success he and his teammates will have over the next few years.”

A valedictorian at HCHS, Noah also took dual-credit classes at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, earning a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

Jeff Phillips, who works at Harlan County Public Schools as the public relations director, was impressed with Noah after seeing him at a local festival.

“The highlight for me of the time I was there were the smiles on Perky and Dolly Bryant’s and Judy Noah’s faces to the awesome remarks and tribute to their grandson, Trent Noah,” said Phillips. “I must note once again what a phenomenal person he is. If you’ve never seen him interact with his fans, fans of all ages, you really don’t know what a true gentleman he is…. Already a legend, he is a tremendous role model.”

Noah said his faith is important.

“I’m a Christian,” he said. “I’ve kind of always grown up in that kind of household and just always trust God and put Him first and His plan is bigger than ours.”

You may be interested to know his UK roommate is freshman Travis Perry, the 2024 Kentucky Mr. Basketball from Lyon County. They are the only two players from the state of Kentucky listed on the UK roster and the duo have become close friends.

Noah’s mother, Stacy Bryant Noah, said he has embraced the summer workouts (at UK) and is giving it his all to be ready for the season. He loves the intensity of the practices and appreciates the demands as the summer workouts have been great for his development.”

Noah is a likeable young man. He was very pleasant and respectful during our interview. He has a bright future, and he’ll be a success in whatever he decides to do.

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