NCAA recruiting rules mandate long-distance friendship for former Kentucky Wildcats
As Kentucky teammates in the mid-1990s, Jeff Sheppard and Mark Pope were close friends. That came with playing for tight-knit teams and being roommates for two years, Sheppard said.
The two have remained good friends through the years (has it really been a quarter century since the two contributed to UK’s 1996 national championship?).
So, the contrast was striking last month at an Adidas recruiting event in Birmingham, Ala. Recruiting rules required the two to practice the NCAA’s version of social distancing. Of course, that was because Sheppard’s son, Reed Sheppard, is a prospective recruit and Pope is Brigham Young’s coach.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Sheppard said with a chuckle recently. “You’re roommates with someone in college. And you live on the other side of the country from them. And you end up meeting in Birmingham. You can talk on the phone. That’s about it.
“That’s OK. It was good to see him from across the gym and wave at him.”
When asked if the in-person interaction between old friends could not go beyond a wave, a wink or a smile, Sheppard said, “Yeah, that’s pretty much it. You can kind of speak and continue moving. . . . Kind of say, ‘Hey, Mark,’ and keep on moving. I think that’s about all you’re allowed to do.”
Sheppard, who led UK to the 1998 national championship and was named Most Outstanding Player in that year’s Final Four, said he accepted the reason for the NCAA to restrict contact with coaches.
“It’s probably a good thing or you would have a lot of these coaches trying to spend time with players all at the same time,” he said. “So, I don’t have a problem with that rule.”
Yes, Sheppard said, Pope has expressed an interest in recruiting Reed, who as a high school junior-to-be is keeping an open mind about college choices at this early stage.
Speaking of early, Sheppard recalled when Pope began his coaching career as an assistant at Georgia. Pope’s wife, Lee Anne (a former assistant for now retired TV talk show host David Letterman), accompanied him on a recruiting trip. While traveling through Kentucky, the Popes stopped for a visit at the home of Sheppard and his wife, Stacey.
“Reed was in the second grade,” Sheppard said. “(Pope) established himself early as the first coach to do an in-home visit recruiting Reed.”
Note to NCAA: that was said in jest.
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‘Karlito’ returns
Late in his one Kentucky season of 2014-15, Karl-Anthony Towns playfully introduced the Big Blue Nation to “Karlito,” an imaginary man who sat on the UK player’s shoulder and acted as a sounding board.
“Karlito” has now returned as a bobblehead doll. It’s part of a fund-raising effort to benefit HopeKids, which provides events, activities and a support community for families who have a child with cancer or some other life-threatening medical condition.
When playing for Kentucky, Towns likened “Karlito” to “Little Penny,” the alter ego of former NBA player Penny Hardaway in television commercials in the mid-1990s.
“Biggest critic I got . . . ,” Towns said of “Karlito” in February 2015. “Absolute biggest critic I got. He yells at me for everything.”
The bobblehead has been produced by FOCO. Towns reached out to the company and helped design “Karlito.”
FOCO has produced 221 “Karlito” bobbleheads, spokesman Anthony Davino said. Each costs $40. “Karlito” is available at www.FOCO.com.
History in triplicate
First, Dajuan Wagner Jr., the No. 1-rated player in the class of 2023, must sign and then play for Kentucky. If he then follows the script that is synonymous with Kentucky basketball, UK would make an additional mark in the sport’s history.
Wagner’s father (Dajuan Wagner Sr.) and grandfather (Milt Wagner) played in the NBA. There have never been three generations of NBA players from one family.
Of course, Milt Wagner helped Louisville win the 1986 NCAA Tournament. He was the 35th pick of that year’s NBA Draft. Dajuan Wagner Sr., played as a freshman for John Calipari at Memphis before becoming the sixth pick of the 2002 NBA Draft.
During an appearance on The Players’ Tribune podcast called Knuckleheads, the father spoke about watching his son play.
“As a parent, it’s a whole different feeling,” he said. “Like, that’s your baby boy right there. My dad gave me (advice). . . . Whatever I thought I lacked, I made sure (my son) had.”
His son is not concerned about his ranking as a prospect (No. 1 by Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN), the father said.
“He’s blind to it,” the elder Dajuan said before adding that youth basketball coaches can err with star players by “treating them like they’ve made it already.”
The word in recruiting circles is that the son will either play for Kentucky or turn pro out of high school.
Of critical assessments of his son, who turned 16 on May 4, the father said, “People say he’s not that athletic yet. He ain’t hit puberty yet. He doesn’t have hair on his legs.”
Atlantis update
Indiana will be playing two exhibition games at the Atlantis resort in Nassau Aug. 13 and 15. The Hoosiers are scheduled to travel to the Bahamas on Tuesday, then play BC Mega of Belgrade, Serbia, in each game.
“This will be an excellent opportunity for our young men to grow as a team and begin to learn our new system,” first-year IU Coach Mike Woodson said in a news release.
Attendance will be limited. Fans must wear masks and observe social distancing. To enter the country, people must test negative for the coronavirus upon arrival. Proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test will be required to attend the games.
Tickets are $250 per person.
Meanwhile, the Battle 4 Atlantis events in November have eye-catching fields. The women’s eight-team tournament (Nov. 20-22) features UConn and South Carolina. The teams in the men’s tournament (Nov. 24-26) include Auburn, Michigan State, Syracuse and defending national champion Baylor.
‘Precious present’
In a pre-draft teleconference, Isaiah Jackson was asked what lessons basketball had taught him.
“Basketball showed me a lot of things,” the former Kentucky player said. “One of them is just staying in the moment. I mean, I feel I can relate to that on and off the court. . . . Just being in the present and not thinking of the future or the past.”
This echoed something Rick Pitino stressed when he was UK coach. He advised players to stay in what he called the “precious present.”
Advice?
And with the multitude of former UK players in the NBA, Isaiah Jackson was asked what advice he had received from ex-Cats.
“I talked to pretty much all the Kentucky guys from every team,” he said. “They don’t really ever give me any advice. It was just, like, a what’s-up, how-you-doing type of thing.”
Can-do spirit
With Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC, Kentucky’s football program could face an even more daunting league schedule.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, who likens his idea of an SEC-ACC merger to an NFL alignment with divisions within conferences, downplayed the notion of Kentucky football being overwhelmed.
“I don’t think the NFL looks at it like ‘how is New Orleans going to compete?’” Bilas said. “You go out and get players. Kentucky can do it.”
Happy birthday
To Florida State Coach (and former UK assistant) Leonard Hamilton. He turned 73 on Wednesday. . . . To Mike Pratt. He turned 73 on Wednesday. . . . To David Robinson. “The Admiral” turned 56 on Friday. . . . To Keion Brooks. He turned 21 on Saturday. . . . To James Blackmon. He turned 57 on Saturday. . . . To Mark Coury. He turns 35 on Sunday (today). . . . To former Alabama Coach Wimp Sanderson. He turns 84 on Sunday (today). . . . To A’ja Wilson. She turns 25 on Sunday (today). . . . To Randy Embry. He turns 78 on Monday. . . . To Hall of Famer Bob Cousy. He turns 93 on Monday. . . . To Sacha Killeya-Jones. He turns 23 on Tuesday. . . . To Jason Parker. He turns 41 on Tuesday. . . . To former UK assistant Tony Barbee. He turns 50 on Tuesday. . . . To John Robic. The special assistant to the UK coach turns 68 on Tuesday. . . . To Kevin Knox. He turns 22 on Wednesday.
