Reece Davidson, Reed Sheppard’s cousin, makes an early case for 2026 Mr. Basketball

Montgomery County head coach Jason Mays summed up Reece Davidson’s night nicely.

“Jiminy Christmas, that kid can play,” Mays said. “Film doesn’t do him justice.”

Davidson doesn’t play for Mays. The 6-foot-7 junior scored 41 points on 16-for-22 shooting, including a 4-for-5 mark from behind the 3-point line, to help opposing North Laurel push Montgomery County until the very end of a 69-66 decision in the Indians’ favor Friday night in the in the UK HealthCare Boys’ Basketball Sweet 16 quarterfinals.

He joined rare company, becoming the 23rd player in 107 editions of the state tournament to score more than 40 points in a game.

Davidson, who also had 10 rebounds, four blocks and four steals in the contest, is the cousin of former North Laurel and UK standout Reed Sheppard. And he’ll always have at least one thing his famous relative, and his older brother Ryan, don’t: a Sweet 16 victory.

Sheppard led the Jaguars to two consecutive state tournaments but his teams fell to Pikeville (2022) and George Rogers Clark (2023) in the first round. Davidson was in eighth grade the first year and a freshman the next. North Laurel bowed out to Knox Central in the first round of the 13th Region Tournament last season before rebounding and getting the school’s first win in Boys’ Sweet 16 history on Thursday. Davidson scored 36 points in that win.

“These guys were able to come here and win this year because of what Reed Sheppard, Ryan Davidson, Clay Sizemore, Caden Harris — all those guys that came the two years and we got beat, they paved the way,” North Laurel head coach Nate Valentine said. “And these guys paved the way for the next group.”

Davidson will be leading the charge again next season for North Laurel, and this week at Rupp Arena might have positioned himself as the front-runner for Mr. Basketball. Valentine has coached several talented big men, including current NBA G League player Kyle Rode while he was leading Lexington Christian Academy. Rode blossomed earlier — he was a standout for LCA from the time he was an eighth grader and finished his career as Lexington’s career scoring leader — but Davidson’s later ascension hasn’t surprised his coach. He averaged 20.6 points and 9.4 rebounds for the Jaguars this season.

“A star was born,” Nate Valentine said. “He did it every way possible, with two, three guys on him, blood all over him, jersey ripped. … I knew Reece always had it in him from the time he was a freshman, but he’s kind of had to go at his own pace. I think it’s finally clicked with him and he’s trending higher than any player out there right now.”

Davidson has reported offers from Western Kentucky, Tennessee Tech, Liberty and Youngstown State, but the combination of size, shooting and passing ability he displayed in two Sweet 16 games might warrant consideration from bigger schools, especially if he maintains that level of play during summer ball.

“If you want to play a high level, you’ve got to play at a high level when people are watching,” Valentine said. “I’ve told these guys if you wanna get a scholarship, go to the state tournament and play well in front of 12,000 fans. He did that today. I would be shocked if some other interests and offers didn’t start rolling in pretty quickly.”

This story was originally published March 28, 2025 at 11:11 PM.