North Laurel and Reed Sheppard endure February frenzy on way to March Madness
For Reed Sheppard and North Laurel boys’ basketball, the most important moment is now.
Missed shots? Can’t worry about them.
Big games ahead? They can only win one at a time.
Huge expectations? According to Coach Nate Valentine, North Laurel remains unfazed by all the attention that has come from being undefeated (17-0), ranked as high at No. 2 (by the Associated Press) and having Sheppard and the frenzy that has developed around the state’s highest-profile sophomore basketball player (Sports Illustrated came calling last week).
“It is a distraction,” Valentine said of the attention. “We’ve got reporters every game that we play and people always wanting to do interviews, and these guys just don’t let it bother them. We just try to go 1-0 every game.”
Tuesday night, North Laurel went for a sweep of Madison Central after topping the Indians 91-73 back home in London last month. But this time, the game was played in Richmond where Allen Feldhaus’ team is a tough out for anyone.
Madison Central (11-6) is ranked No. 23 in the latest Dave Cantrall Ratings, but had to play without its head coach as Feldhaus recovers from a Monday surgery to repair a broken bone in his leg suffered in a slip on an icy patch last week.
Even without Feldhaus, the Indians hung close with the Jaguars for two quarters before North Laurel’s defense helped the visitors pull away to a 90-69 win.
“It all starts in practice having good preparation for every game,” said Sheppard who scored 43 points, 10 above his average. “Just keep moving the ball and playing as a team. Even in tough times. The first half was a little harder on us, but we stayed together and didn’t get down on each other. And that’s a big part of it.”
Sheppard had 19 points in the first half, but was just 5-of-15 from the field as some of his efforts rolled off the rim. Meanwhile, Madison Central matched the Jaguars shot-for-shot in the first two quarters, making seven three pointers on their way to trailing just 41-39 at the break. Trey Skaggs had three of those three-pointers. Jaylen Davis had another two.
“I felt like we followed our scouting report really good, especially defensively, in the first half,” said Madison Central assistant coach Jared Pyatt, who is leading the team on the sideline during Feldhaus’ recovery. “In the second half, we kind of got a look in our eyes that said, ‘Well, we’re down 11, so let’s see if I can go get it.’ Unfortunately, there’s not an 11-point shot.”
While Sheppard, the son of former University of Kentucky basketball players Jeff Sheppard and Stacey Reed, has become the focal point for fans and media this season, North Laurel has earned its No. 2 ranking because his teammates play exceptionally well, too. The Jaguars have three other starters averaging double figures led by Ryan Davidson with 22 points per game, Clay Sizemore with 13.3 and Brody Brock with 11.2. And they each reached double figures Tuesday, led by Clay Sizemore’s 16 points that included going 4-for-8 from three-point range.
“We put in the work,” Sizemore said. “We know we’re in a pretty good spot right now.”
North Laurel outscored Madison Central 30-16 in the third quarter with Sheppard accounting for his own mini run during the stretch with a three-pointer and a steal on the next Indians’ possession that led to a layup, a 49-41 lead and a Madison Central timeout to try to stem the momentum. It did not.
“We felt like if we just stayed with what we were doing and kept them playing fast, that was the thing,” Valentine said, noting that Madison Central did not make a three-pointer in the second half on 13 attempts. And Valentine rarely has concerns about Sheppard struggling.
“We know if he misses his first 10 shots, you think he’s going to make his next 10,” Valentine said. “We’ve got all the confidence in the world in him. And his teammates do too.”
When shots aren’t falling, Sheppard relies on the rest of his game. He also had six rebounds and eight assists. But defense spurs everything. Sheppard had six steals.
“Once I’m locked in on the defensive side, it helps get my offense going,” Sheppard said. “I don’t think about (missing shots) as much because I’m always thinking about making the right play on the defensive end.”
After games against Pulaski County and McCreary Central, the Jaguars are slated to play two games in Lexington next week. The first will come against defending 16th Region champion Ashland Blazer on March 5, followed by current No. 1 Lexington Catholic on March 6. Both games will be at LexCath.
If rankings hold until then, the LexCath-North Laurel game will be No. 1 versus No. 2 and feature two of the top shooting guards in the state — Sheppard and the Knights’ Mr. Basketball candidate, Ben Johnson.
“We can’t look ahead,” Sheppard said. “We’ve got a tough game at Pulaski on Friday. … We’ve just got to keep going day-by-day, game-by-game and taking that the best we can and not getting too far ahead of ourselves.”
Highlights
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 8:07 AM.
