Reed sheppard: College Basketball’s next breakout phenom
Reed Sheppard has been one of the most exciting breakout players of the college basketball season so far, going from a guy who might not even see the court during his freshman campaign to maybe the best player on a top 10 team in the country. Let’s take a look at where Reed came from.
Reed came out of North Laurel high school in London, Kentucky listed as a 6’3” 170 pound combo guard. After winning Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball 2023, 247sports.com listed Reed as the 79th ranked player in the nation, and he chose to stay home and play for John Calipari at the University of Kentucky.
Coming into his freshman year, Sheppard really had no attention. He joined the #1 ranked recruiting class in the country that included three of the top six nationally ranked prospects, so Reed was just an afterthought to all these guys, as anyone ranked that low would probably be at Kentucky. Nowhere to be seen on any draft boards, surrounded by future NBA talent, it didn’t look like Reed would be seeing the floor any time soon.
Then, things started to happen. Surprisingly, he got 21 minutes of action in their opener against New Mexico State, which most weren’t expecting. For all we know, Reed could’ve been balling out all preseason and Cal kept it a secret to hide his gem. He showed his smooth stroke early, going 1-2 from 3 point range, while also adding two steals.
At least when I watched the game, I didn’t think much of it. They won the game 86-46, it doesn’t really matter, right? In Kentucky’s second game of the season, he saw a lot of action again, 29 minutes that is. He didn’t shoot the ball well, but continued to show his defensive tenacity, racking up 3 steals.
It was against then #1 Kansas where Reed really put his name on the map. He only played 16 minutes, but it was remarkable how much better the Wildcats got when he was on the court. He went 3-4 from outside in this game and added another three steals. This guy wasn’t just the shooter he was in high school, we now can see just how good he is against the top competition.
Across the next two games, Reed played well, shooting the three efficiently, flashed his passing ability, and played aggressive and hard-nosed defense. It was against Miami where we realized that Reed Sheppaed isn’t just good, he might be one of the best players in the entire country.
Miami got off to a hot start early on the offensive end, and Kentucky was really struggling to find any rhythm. Enter Reed Sheppard.
Sheppard came into the game and single-handedly lit a spark in his Wildcats that would ignite the squad for the remainder of the game. He didn’t get any short bursts of minutes this time out like the Kansas game, he was going to be in for the long haul.
Reed shot the Canes out of the door, helping Kentucky outscore Miami 53-36 in the second half to run away with the game. In 30 minutes off the bench, Sheppard logged 21 points going 8-13 from the field at 5-9 from beyond the arc. He also added 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a block. Ok, this kid’s a special talent.
He makes Kentucky so much better on both sides of the ball, and really might be its most complete player on the entire roster. He can shoot the lights out, as he is currently shooting 62% from the field and an insane 61% from 3 on 8 attempts a night. But it’s Reed’s IQ as a defender and a passer that makes him so good.
He knows where to get the ball and how to create looks for his teammates. Although he’s a shoot-first guard, he knows when to make the extra pass to find a better shot for a teammate. And on the defensive end, he just lights a fire in his teammates with his intensity. He’s a guarantee for at least a steal or two a night, and makes this Kentucky squad so much scarier on the defensive end.
Reed has gone from unknown prospect we might not hear of for another year to potential NBA Draft first-round pick. It makes you wonder, do stars of prospects coming out of high school matter all that much?
* all statistics taken from espn.com*