All eyes on Reed Sheppard, North Laurel with a Sweet Sixteen bid up for grabs
At least one opposing coach believes if North Laurel makes the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet Sixteen, it will have a chance to win the whole thing based on one big factor.
“Those crowds will be insane,” the coach, whose team plays in another region, told the Herald-Leader. “If they get in, they’re going all the way.”
The presence and promise of Reed Sheppard, a junior who’s committed to the University of Kentucky basketball program, could be just what the doctor ordered for an event that used to regularly draw more than 100,000 people to downtown Lexington every March. Dismissing last year’s total — capacity was limited based on COVID-19 guidelines — the last five tournaments averaged 93,529 fans. A recruit with the incoming star power of Sheppard hasn’t played in the tournament in quite some time; Dominique Hawkins wasn’t a name known statewide, or a UK commit, until after leading Madison Central to a state championship in 2013.
North Laurel will be the definitive fan favorite if it plays in Rupp Arena, but qualifying is easier said than done. About four or five teams are capable of winning the 13th Region, head coach Nate Valentine says, but one of them — Knox Central — has won the tournament three years in a row, eliminating the Jaguars on each occasion.
“We just haven’t had a lot of success against them, even before I got here, in the regional tournament, for whatever reason,” Valentine said. “Sometimes I think it gets in your head a little bit.”
With the fanfare of being a UK basketball commit also comes the pressure of living up to that scholarship offer every single night. Sheppard is scoring nearly 25 points per game, shooting about 38 percent from behind the three-point line and leads the Jaguars in rebounding (7.1 per game), so he’s holding up that part of the bargain.
North Laurel has won 14 of its last 15 games, including a 90-86 thriller in Knox Central’s home gym a couple weeks ago. But Sheppard and the Jaguars enter this year’s 13th Region Tournament with immense expectations; other than the other seven teams in the regional field, just about everyone in the state wants to see them in Lexington.
“I think the pressure comes from, what is everybody else gonna say if you don’t get it done this year?” Valentine said. “I’ve just tried to really hammer home with our guys to focus on their teammates. Let’s don’t let our teammates down and not worry about anybody else. Just take care of our own business and focus on us.”
Sheppard has handled pressure well as an individual; Valentine says he’s signed autographs for “lines of people” after wins and losses. The Jags’ head coach has spent a lot of time making sure the 17-year-old junior knows he isn’t going at this alone, and — win or lose — he’s not responsible for North Laurel’s postseason fate.
“A lot of things have to go right to win a regional championship,” Valentine said. “It’s not on one guy, and I try to make sure that Reed doesn’t shoulder that all by himself.”
13th Region Tournament
At Corbin Arena
Wednesday
6 p.m.: South Laurel (22-7) vs. Harlan (22-10)
7:30 p.m.: Knox Central (24-7) vs. Jackson County (21-9)
Thursday
6 p.m.: Bell County (24-5) vs. Corbin (22-8)
7:30 p.m.: North Laurel (25-5) vs. Lynn Camp (21-11)
Saturday
1 and 2:30 p.m.: Semifinals
Monday
7 p.m.: Championship game
