Reed Sheppard earns a Kentucky offer. ‘Every high school basketball player’s dream’
The question that threatened to hang over the recruitment of one of the most celebrated Kentucky high school basketball players in a long time has been answered.
There will be no drawn-out process of “will they or won’t they?” here.
Reed Sheppard has a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky.
Sheppard — a 6-foot-2 guard from North Laurel High School and the son of two UK basketball greats — apparently showed enough in the Wildcats’ first in-person viewings of him to warrant an offer, which many Kentucky fans have been clamoring for.
UK Coach John Calipari extended the scholarship offer Friday night, effectively putting the ball in Sheppard’s court, regarding what comes next in his recruitment.
Calipari was among the head coaches in the bleachers Thursday night at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex, the setting for Sheppard’s July recruiting period debut on the national Adidas circuit. Not only was Calipari there, but he brought all three of his assistant coaches — Orlando Antigua, Chin Coleman and Jai Lucas — a major statement that Kentucky was serious about Sheppard’s recruitment.
While Calipari left Alabama to recruit elsewhere Friday, top assistant Antigua stayed behind and was center court for Sheppard’s second game of the event. Antigua watched the UK legacy recruit score 23 points in the first half of that one. He finished with six three-pointers, a victory for his team, and yet another example of why he deserved to be ranked among the nation’s best.
After his Adidas debut Thursday night, Sheppard was told that the entire UK coaching staff had watched him play. It was news to him. He was asked what a possible Kentucky scholarship offer would mean.
“It would mean a lot,” he said. “Especially mom and dad both playing at Kentucky, and then growing up a Kentucky fan. And living in Kentucky, it’s every high school basketball player’s dream to play at the University of Kentucky. So it would mean a lot. But we’re just going to see how it all goes, and however it plays out is how it’s going to play out.”
It didn’t take long to play out, and perhaps that should have been expected, even with Calipari’s history of taking a meticulous approach to the offer process. This one is different.
Sheppard’s parents — Jeff Sheppard and Stacey Reed Sheppard — will forever be remembered in UK basketball lore. His dad was the leading scorer and Final Four most outstanding player on the 1998 national championship team. His mom was one of the greatest players in program history.
But Sheppard didn’t get this scholarship offer because of his last name. He earned it.
He averaged 30.1 points per game — and shot 40.9 percent from three-point range — this past high school season, leading the state in scoring as a sophomore. He was good enough earlier this spring to go from unranked nationally to No. 39 in the Rivals.com rankings for the 2023 class. The more national recruiting analysts and talent evaluators get their eyes on Sheppard, the more they seem to like him.
He obviously did enough to impress Kentucky’s coaches.
Along the way, neither he nor his family shied away from the massive spotlight that was already being pointed in his direction. Sheppard just turned 17 years old — and still has two more years of high school in front of him — but he’s already become one of the names at the center of the UK basketball universe. He’s taken it all in stride.
His father, who knows a thing or two about UK basketball, thinks that — if he ends up picking the Wildcats — he’ll take a similar approach to the pressure that comes with playing at Kentucky.
Jeff Sheppard noted that — for a player with basketball dreams as big as his son’s — there’s always going to be an oversized expectation to succeed, no matter what jersey he wears.
“More than anything, wherever he ends up, we just want him to be himself,” the former UK star said. “And wherever he ends up, there’s going to be pressure. And expectations. And that’s not a bad thing. When you entrust your son with some of these leaders in this gym, they’re capable of handling it and guiding them through. You look around — there’s elite leaders all around. So, you kind of have to trust them to navigate through the process, as well.”
Reed, who lives about 75 miles south of Lexington, acknowledged that he grew up a Kentucky fan. He still has UK stuff related to his dad’s time there in his bedroom, as well items celebrating more recent, Calipari-era stars like John Wall, Anthony Davis and Devin Booker.
“We watch every one of Kentucky’s games, as a family, when we’re all home,” he said. “I did grow up a Kentucky fan, and I like Kentucky. Coach Cal has done a really good job with getting players to the league, and he’s had really good success in the tournaments. I think he’s a good coach.”
All of that said, there’s been nothing to indicate that this UK offer will bring an immediate end to Sheppard’s recruitment. He has plenty of other intriguing options. Louisville has also extended a scholarship offer, and — coming into the week — Sheppard said Gonzaga, Virginia, Indiana and Clemson were among the other programs heavily recruiting him. There will surely be more big names that jump into the mix in the near future.
Or perhaps the Kentucky offer will scare off other suitors. Time will tell.
What does seem clear is that Sheppard will not be scared off by the UK basketball stage or the possibility that Calipari brings in other star players — more celebrated recruits — that could make it more difficult for him to play big minutes right away.
“Wherever you go … you just can’t think that you’re going to be able to play right away,” he said. “You’re going to have to work for it and get in the gym and get better and compete against all of your teammates, and work for one of the starting five spots.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2021 at 6:16 PM.
