How good is Reed Sheppard? ‘I think he’s really forcing Kentucky’s hand here.’
Asked about Reed Sheppard — the junior guard from North Laurel High School who has already risen to superstar level in Kentucky basketball circles — a national recruiting analyst immediately brought up one specific instance to illustrate his thoughts.
“There was a play that really stands out,” said Brandon Jenkins, who covers recruiting for 247Sports and evaluated Sheppard at a major showcase in Texas over Memorial Day weekend.
On this particular offensive possession, Sheppard — a 6-foot-2 guard — was matched up with Keyonte George, a 6-5 prospect and major University of Kentucky recruiting target widely considered to be the No. 1 shooting guard in the 2021 class.
Sheppard caught the ball on the left wing, just outside the three-point line. He took two dribbles — one between his legs — sizing George up as he plotted his next move.
“He looks Keyonte dead in the eye, shoots it over him. That’s it,” Jenkins said in a tone that assured the shot went in. “And I just think that’s a perfect description of his mentality. He’s out there to kill, but he also plays the game the right way.”
Folks around the commonwealth have known that Sheppard could play for quite some time. The son of two former UK standouts — Jeff Sheppard and Stacey Reed — the spotlight was there from an early age. It might have been there even without the locally famous last name.
Sheppard averaged 20.6 points as a freshman before truly breaking out this past season, leading the state in scoring at 30.1 points per game and leading North Laurel within one victory of a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
But anyone from Kentucky reading this likely already knows all of that.
A big question throughout Sheppard’s sensational sophomore season was how his game would play outside the state, against a more consistent rotation of more talented opponents. With the COVID-19 pandemic preventing Sheppard from playing against such competition last summer — and continued restrictions preventing college coaches and national analysts from seeing much of him during the high school season — there were still plenty of questions surrounding his potential.
In late February, 247Sports analyst Travis Branham evaluated Sheppard in person — a matchup with Madison Central — and told the Herald-Leader that his game would translate to the high-major level. 247Sports later ranked Sheppard as the No. 65 player nationally in the 2023 class, based largely on that viewing, but Branham, and plenty of others, wanted to hold off on a more complete judgment until they saw what he could do against other nationally ranked prospects.
Now that they’ve gotten that chance, Sheppard’s standing on the national recruiting scene has only been elevated.
Evaluating Reed Sheppard
The Memorial Day weekend event was just one in a handful of major grassroots events that Sheppard has played in this offseason. Jenkins and Rivals.com analyst Jamie Shaw — both of whom have a say in their respective service’s national rankings — have kept an eye on Sheppard this spring, and both have come away impressed.
Jenkins named Sheppard the “best offensive player” at the Memorial Day showcase.
“He makes open shots — he’s an elite shooter,” he told the Herald-Leader. “He can play on and off the ball. You would prefer him off the ball, just because of his ability to shoot the basketball, and then when you put it in his hands, he’ll be able to make a play. He can come off ball screens and make the right decisions with the ball. He’s well coached. And you can just tell — the bloodlines are there. His mentality is great. He isn’t the kind of dude who makes an expression after he makes a play. He’s all business out there on the court. I definitely think he’s one that will have a great college career at a high-major level, just because you can tell the work that he puts into his game.
“I definitely think Reed Sheppard is a hell of a player.”
Jenkins checked back on his notes from that event. Next to Sheppard’s name, he put down that he would be in favor of placing him in the 30-40 range in 247Sports’ next rankings update.
“I definitely think he’s a top-50 player, without a doubt,” Jenkins said.
The new Rivals.com rankings for the 2023 class were released this month, and Sheppard was introduced to that list as the No. 39 player in the country. Shaw was the analyst on the Rivals team lobbying in Sheppard’s favor the most.
“When it comes to scoring the ball, when it comes to getting to his spots, when it comes to the athleticism, when it comes to how hard he plays — there’s not really much on the court that he’s not able to get done,” Shaw told the Herald-Leader.
He said the biggest drawback to Sheppard’s game at the moment is his size. He’s 6-2, and — while he can handle the ball and play unselfishly within an offense — he’s not a point guard. But, in an evolving game that puts an even greater emphasis on shooting, scoring and spacing the floor, Sheppard’s size is far from a major hindrance.
“You look at it these days — shooting guards now aren’t what shooting guards used to be,” Shaw said. “Gone are the days when the shooting guard had to be 6-5 and check all these boxes. Now, you almost want a secondary ball-handler — almost a point guard who can score it — moved over. His athleticism and his shooting, especially his shooting, will be something, I think, that carries him over to the collegiate level.
“He also has the IQ to play and initiate and create some things. And he’s going to give effort on the defensive end. While he might not be the premier on-ball defender, he has the understanding of how to play team defense.”
As with any player of Sheppard’s age, there are always areas for improvement.
Jenkins also noted his size as a possible weakness, though he added that his overall game translates enough to overcome that. He said he’d like to see Sheppard stay engaged defensively on every possession and simply continue to hone the skills he’s already good at.
Similarly, Shaw said he wants to see Sheppard solidify his outside jump shot and establish himself as a player who could realistically be a 40-percent shooter from three-point range at the next level. (His high school numbers from deep jumped from 33.3 percent as a freshman to 40.9 percent as a sophomore).
Shaw also said Sheppard could improve in the mid-range, including working more on going both ways with the ball and refining his pull-up game. Looking further down the road, he said Sheppard should concentrate on honing the playmaking aspects of his skill set — tightening his ball handling, becoming even more of a facilitator, and seeing how far he can get into being a point guard, noting that his size would be more of an issue when looking at a possible pro career.
“Because we’re already talking about him as a good college player,” Shaw said. “Now, in order to be a great college player and a possible pro prospect, what steps does he need to take?”
Will Kentucky offer Sheppard?
Sheppard already had high-major scholarship offers from Iowa and Texas A&M before he even completed his sophomore year of high school, and that list expanded on June 15, the first day that college coaches were permitted to directly contact players from his 2023 class.
On that morning, Sheppard received new offers from Louisville and Arizona State (where former UK coach Joel Justus is now the top assistant).
Sheppard took his first recruiting visit to U of L earlier in the month, and he also traveled to Virginia’s campus on a recruiting trip two weeks ago.
UK reached out to express interest in Sheppard’s recruitment during the high school season, and that communication has re-opened this spring — following a major shakeup to John Calipari’s coaching staff — with top assistant Orlando Antigua establishing contact.
Sheppard and his family have made it clear that they’re not rushing anything on the recruiting front, and his parents have made it equally clear that they won’t try to influence their son’s college choice and that they want him to be able to enjoy his high school experience without his recruitment becoming a statewide circus.
And no one has even implied that a chance to play at Kentucky would bring an early end to Sheppard’s recruiting process. Publicly, at least, he’s keeping his options open.
Still, everyone knows the reality of the situation, and it’s clear that until Calipari comes through with a scholarship offer — or doesn’t — how UK goes about approaching Sheppard’s recruitment will be a major storyline to his high school career.
The early Louisville offer might have accelerated UK’s timeline, but the Cats haven’t extended that offer just yet. Next month could be telling. That’s when college coaches will have three separate evaluation periods — chances to see high school players play with their grassroots basketball teams for the first time in more than a year.
Sheppard will suit up with Midwest Basketball Club, a program that is scheduled to play a series of events on Adidas’ highest level. Kentucky’s coaches, including Calipari, are certain to be in the gym at the same time as Sheppard at various points during July.
“Obviously, given who his family is and the fact that he is talented enough — I don’t see why they wouldn’t go after him,” Shaw said. “You get 13 roster spots, and the kid is probably the biggest legacy that’ll ever come through Kentucky. And he’s good enough.”
Jenkins explicitly predicted that UK, at some point, will offer Sheppard a scholarship.
“I think he’s really forcing Kentucky’s hand here,” he said. “Because he’s being consistently productive, and they just can’t ignore it. And, obviously, with his parents … I definitely think that Kentucky will end up offering, just because of how productive he’s been.”
While Jenkins said a program like Louisville or Virginia might give Sheppard a more immediate path to considerable playing time early in his college career, neither analyst discounted the possibility that Sheppard could play right away at Kentucky.
Jenkins noted that his shooting ability would make it tough to keep him off the court, even for a team that usually boasts several players projected to be NBA Draft picks. He projected Sheppard as a four-year college player, but one who could make a meaningful impact right away.
Obviously, he still has two years of high school left. Plenty of time to grow his game, and plenty of time for the coaches and scouts and analysts to get an even better feel for his true potential.
“Calipari will go after the one-and-dones … and then build the other seven or so spots with program guys,” Shaw said. “There have been a couple of them that have morphed from program guys into starters into prospects throughout his time. I think Sheppard kind of falls in between that. He’s not a one-and-done guy for sure. But he’s a big-time player who could also be a program guy, who could also — if he develops — be pushed to the pros early, as well.”
