‘He makes his team better.’ Kentucky signee Reed Sheppard growing his game as a senior.
Within the confines of the commonwealth, it’s long been known what Reed Sheppard can do.
Now, a wider national audience is beginning to take notice of the North Laurel High School star and future Kentucky Wildcat.
Sheppard — a 2023 Kentucky basketball signee and the son of UK basketball royalty — has begun his senior season at North Laurel on an absolute tear.
This has included a star-studded matchup earlier this month in Louisville against fellow 2023 Kentucky signee Justin Edwards, a game in which Sheppard had 14 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds while flashing his signature passing ability.
It was enough to impress Edwards when he spoke to the media postgame.
“He makes his team better,” Edwards said of Sheppard after that game.
But while that was a showcase high school matchup, it was still one that took place in Kentucky, a Sunday night event designed to draw in Kentucky fans eager to see two players that make up part of the nation’s top recruiting class for next year.
What Sheppard did last week, at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Florida, came in front of a national audience of recruiting analysts.
Onlookers had four chances to watch Sheppard’s dynamic on-court play.
Sheppard and North Laurel went 2-2 at City of Palms, but the future Wildcat stuffed the stat sheet each time he was on the hardwood.
Here’s what Sheppard did over the course of North Laurel’s four games in Florida:
▪ 28 points (9-16 FG, 4-7 3pt, 6-7 FT), 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals against Charlotte (win)
▪ 20 points (7-21 FG, 2-7 3pt, 4-5 FT), 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals against Myers Park (loss)
▪ 26 points (8-18 FG, 3-8 3pt, 7-7 FT), 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals against Winter Haven (loss)
▪ 16 points (7-26 FG, 1-8 3pt, 1-1 FT), 16 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals against Canterbury (win)
What stood out from Sheppard’s consistent high-level play against some of the best high school teams in the country?
“Sheppard’s North Laurel team was fairly undersized throughout the event and he wasn’t afraid to play physical against bigger opponents,” said Tony McNiff, a scouting analyst for MADE Hoops who covered the City of Palms Classic. “That’s something Kentucky fans should definitely note when Sheppard will be playing in one of, if not the most, physical and athletic conferences in all of college basketball in the SEC.”
Sheppard is currently ranked in the 247Sports Composite as the No. 29 player in the class of 2023.
The top 26 players in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite, are all five-star prospects.
That five-star jump could come soon for Sheppard based on the all-around ability that was on display in Florida, which included sharp offensive play.
“He’s been well-known as a scorer, however he also impressed playing on the ball and running the point,” McNiff said of Sheppard, who had turnover issues in both of North Laurel’s losses. “It was really his toughness, rebounding and growth as a playmaker that showed he’s a much more versatile player than I had previously evaluated.”
Sheppard was named to the City of Palms all-tournament team, and finished the event — which was won by Edwards’ Imhotep Institute team — among the leaders in a variety of categories:
▪ Third in scoring (22.5 points per game)
▪ Third in rebounding (9.8 rebounds per game)
▪ Second in assists (6.25 assists per game)
▪ First in steals (4.3 steals per game)
That kind of on-court productivity against elite opposition has long been known to the Kentucky men’s basketball coaching staff.
“The higher the competition, the more his IQ and feel showed up and that’s special,” UK associate coach Orlando Antigua said of Sheppard this month on BBN Tonight.
While Sheppard’s direct family ties to the Kentucky men’s and women’s basketball programs seemed to preordain his choice to become a Wildcat, Antigua said this dynamic was something the UK staff had to manage during the recruiting process.
“Cal was deliberate in saying, ‘Look, we’ve got to make sure that this is going to work for Reed.’ We recruited him, we watched him, we evaluated him and at the end of it, Cal says, ‘He will be a great piece,’” Antigua said. “I think he’s going to be a kid that’s going to be a great piece in that class and have a lot of success.”
Sheppard will also always hold a special place in the basketball journey of K.T. Turner, Kentucky’s newest assistant coach.
Turner joined the UK coaching staff over the summer, and Sheppard was the first player that Turner went to see play in his new job.
“He can really, really pass the ball and to add him to the mix with his passing with those other guys, it fits really well,” Turner said this month.
On Tuesday afternoon, Turner met with members of the media, and the Herald-Leader asked him about what he’s continued to see from Sheppard in his senior season.
“I think he’s gotten a little stronger and he’s shooting the ball better,” Turner said. “When I first saw him that first day, I had never seen him play, and he didn’t shoot it particularly good. But his passing was phenomenal. So you add (the shooting) on top of his passing, he’s going to be a really good player.”
Those traits were also on display in Kentucky this week, as Sheppard and North Laurel took part in the White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic.
Sheppard began the tournament with 22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in an opening-round victory over Campbell County.
He followed that up the next night with an astounding 43 of his team’s 67 total points in a loss to North Oldham in the quarterfinals.
