UK basketball’s future feels uncertain. But incoming Wildcat Reed Sheppard remains consistent.
Last weekend’s high-profile high school showdown in Lexington between Travis Perry’s Lyon County and Reed Sheppard’s North Laurel was therapeutic for plenty of Kentucky basketball fans.
In the hours following one of the worst defeats in Kentucky basketball history, Wildcats supporters could look to the future.
Perry — a class of 2024 sharpshooter and UK recruit — dropped 45 points for Lyon County in a win.
Sheppard — a class of 2023 UK signee — had a triple-double for North Laurel in defeat.
The game took place at Lexington Catholic High School, with fans clad in UK gear filling the stands — and walkways — at the 2,000-seat Beuter Gymnasium.
Perry’s recruitment is still in its early stages and is by no means a lock to Kentucky: He visited Cincinnati the day after the game and has plenty of other high-major programs in pursuit.
And while there’s plenty of discourse to be had right now concerning Kentucky’s top-ranked 2023 recruiting class, it’s safe to say Sheppard to Kentucky still remains a sure thing.
Which is why during a turbulent week for Kentucky men’s basketball, solace can at least be taken in the steady presence of Sheppard, a future Wildcat who can do it all.
“Man, it was a lot of fun,” Sheppard said after recording 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in that showcase game. “The atmosphere was awesome. I hate that it ended the way it did, but I was proud of my teammates. We were short some dudes and they just came out and played hard and gave it everything they could.”
Four key North Laurel players were out injured for the matchup against Lyon County, which allowed Sheppard even more room than usual to display the on-court skills that have seen him become a four-star recruit who is ranked in the 247Sports Composite as the No. 29 player in the 2023 class.
There was the 5-for-13 shooting from three-point range, reflective of an evolving outside shot that has been one of the hallmarks of his senior season so far.
There was the putback dunk from his own three-point miss, where Sheppard went from three-point arc to basket before seven other players in a closer spot could react.
Perhaps most impressively, there was the ability to both carry his shorthanded team on his back for long periods of the game, while also creating for others not normally in the North Laurel rotation.
“Reed isn’t here because he wanted to be here,” UK head coach John Calipari said back in November in comments released after Sheppard signed with the Cats. “He has terrific fundamentals and is the kind of player who can excel on or off the ball.”
More recently, UK assistant coach Chin Coleman spoke last week about all five of the players currently signed with Kentucky in the 2023 class, including Sheppard, whose parents both played basketball at Kentucky.
“Reed is having a great season,” Coleman said, adding that he watched Sheppard play at the prestigious City of Palms Classic high school basketball tournament in December.
While Sheppard — who as a senior is a strong contender to win Kentucky Mr. Basketball this spring — has been on a heater for most of his final high school season, that City of Palms showing in particular was a breakout moment.
Sheppard had per-game averages of 22.5 points, 9.75 rebounds, 6.25 assists and 4.25 steals across four games in Florida.
“The first thing that pops out for me with Reed Sheppard is his fundamentally sound skill set and his ability to score from multiple levels,” said Tony McNiff, a scouting analyst for MADE Hoops who covered City of Palms. “He has an advanced pass, dribble and shoot skill set which gives him a high floor as a prospect at the next level.”
“I think he’s gotten a little stronger and he’s shooting the ball better,” UK assistant coach K.T. Turner said last month of Sheppard’s senior year progression.
Whether or not the four other players in Kentucky’s 2023 recruiting class will still join Sheppard in Lexington this summer is a hot topic at the moment.
But for now, the recruit who is the most firmly entrenched in blue and white is also the most certain thing about the future of UK basketball.
