Can Kentucky basketball's Trent Noah be this season's Koby Brea?

LEXINGTON — Kyle Jones jokes Harlan County's boys basketball team probably gets "a little aggravated" at him at times. It's because rarely a day goes by that he doesn't mention Trent Noah, one of his former players. And, unquestionably, the best hooper in program history.

He averaged nearly 30 points and more than 10 rebounds per game during his senior season in 2023-24, propelling the Black Bears to a 34-5 record and a runner-up finish in the Sweet 16. His points-per-game average ranked third in the state that season. Noah capped his career at Harlan County with 3,707 points — the fifth-best tally in state history — and 1,500 rebounds.

Jones can't help himself.

"Just to say that you got to coach a kid like that," he told The Courier Journal in a recent phone interview, "that's something I'll never take for granted."

Even though Noah's no longer starring for his alma mater, he's still part of the team in one way.

"He's still got a locker in our locker room," Jones said. "We got his jersey hanging up in there. He'll never be forgotten for what he (did) for Harlan County."

Now, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Noah is in his second season with Kentucky basketball.

At the program's annual media day to preview the 2025-26 season, coach Mark Pope marveled at a number he'd seen from Noah.

"Trent Noah is (averaging) 1.76 points per possession in live play right now," Pope said Oct. 6. "I've never seen that number ever in the history of college basketball."

Pope's admiration of Noah's improvement was evident once more 11 days later, following the team's Blue-White intrasquad scrimmage. In that contest, Noah nailed 3s and dished out three assists — doing so without committing a turnover.

"Trent's a 3-0," said Pope, referring to Noah's assist-to-turnover ratio during that session at Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 17. "And he shoots 50% from the 3-point line. He just is a vet that just knows exactly who he is. He's got incredible physicality around the ball where he can protect it. And he runs hard."

Of course, the skill Noah possesses that Pope and the Wildcats value above all else is clear.

"He's clearly just a dangerous, dangerous, dangerous, dangerous shooter," Pope said. "He just brings this calm to our team."

So much so, in fact, it reminded Pope of the best shooter on last season's team, the first of his tenure.

"I think (Noah is) going to bail us out of situations — like Koby did last year, a little bit," said Pope, bringing up the name of Koby Brea, who led the SEC in 3-point percentage (43.5) in 2024-25. "It's been incredible to watch him grow."

Brea's accuracy rose to a level that every time he flicked his wrist, everyone around him expected the ball would find its intended target: the bottom of the net. Pope admitted "we think it's going in every time." But he phrased it in the form of a question to his players — freshman guard Jasper Johnson to his left, junior forward Mouhamed Dioubate to his right. Both players nodded their heads.

"Trent, he's been one of our best guys in practice every day," Dioubate said. "Trent, since the beginning of summer to now, he's probably one of the guys that made the biggest improvement, especially with his confidence. He's been probably the best shooter in our practice. He's only gonna be better for us this year."

Informed of his coach's words comparing him with Brea, a smile crept across Noah's face.

"If my name is mentioned with Koby Brea's," Noah said, "then I'm in good shape."

As lethal a shooter as he was in high school — Noah connected on 56% of his shots from the field, including 43% (102 of 237) beyond the 3-point arc along with 88.9% of his free-throw attempts — Jones said his protégé is even better now.

"If you do something over and over, you're going to get better," Jones said. "There's no doubt he's putting in extra work on his shooting. He's always done that. I think he's one of the better shooters in the country. ... And I think you're going to continue to see 3s dropping from him."

Yet that shooting prowess, Jones believes, overshadows other areas of Noah's game.

"I think Trent's a really underrated rebounder," he said. "If you'll watch him in games, he's one of those kids that, he's not the highest jumper in the world, but he's just such an intelligent player, he kind of knows where the ball's going to come off when it's shot. And then he just pursues the basketball so hard.

"Then Trent's a good help defender, too. Just a very intelligent player. I can tell by watching (Kentucky) games, he's helping guys get into position on offense and defense when he's in there. Just very high IQ."

Jones vows Noah's progress is far from over. There are areas in which Noah can improve. Or showcase an attribute he's only flashed occasionally at UK: putting the ball on the floor, driving into the lane and attacking the basket.

"He (did) that so well in high school — and he really (did) a good job in high school of using his body and getting to the rim and drawing fouls," Jones said. "And I think that's something, once he gets more time on the floor and gets more confident, I think he can bring that to the table for UK as well."

Noah doesn't only do that for himself and his teammates, Jones said. It's far bigger than that. It stems from history.

Nothing means more to a boy brought up in the Bluegrass State — particularly the mountainous region of eastern Kentucky that Noah calls home — than the chance to suit up for the Wildcats.

"I think the more time he gets on the court, the more you're going to see him make big plays for Kentucky," Jones said, "because he's got so much pride wearing the blue and white."

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Trent Noah, Kentucky basketball forward, viewed as team's best shooter