LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Reed Sheppard, who left earlier than planned from his dream of playing college basketball at the University of Kentucky, realized another dream Wednesday night when he was selected No. 3 overall in the NBA Draft.
Sheppard, who was taken by the Houston Rockets, is the highest draft pick out of Kentucky since Karl-Anthony Towns was taken No. 1 in the 2015 draft. He is the sixth John Calipari recruit to be taken in the Top 3 of the draft, and just the 10th in school history overall. Among Kentucky natives, only Darrell Griffith and DeAngelo Russell, both Louisville natives taken No. 2, were selected higher.
Sheppard didn’t start a game for Kentucky, but was named National Freshman of the Year, was one of the most efficient players in the game and took another leap during the NBA Draft Combine, in which he posted the highest vertical leap.
He was generally viewed as the top shooter available in the Draft. He was flanked in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn by 75 friends and family, including Calipari.
"No more nerves, I'm good. Super excited," Sheppard told ESPN's Monica McNutt, with his parents standing next to him. ". . . I'm just a guy going in, looking to learn, doing whatever it takes to win. If it's not making threes right away, it's getting teammates involved, whatever it takes to win, whatever makes the team better."
His decision to turn pro wasn’t an easy one. The son of a UK standout, Jeff Sheppard, he figured to be a multi-year star for the Wildcats. But his freshman year was better than anyone expectred.
“I'm just a little boy from London, Ky., with a big dream,” Sheppard said in a video posted to his Instagram account, announcing his decision to turn pro. “Playing basketball at the University of Kentucky was a huge part of my dream. I am so thankful to wear the blue and white jersey that represents my family, my friends, and the hard-working, faithful fans of The Big Blue Nation. Kentucky is home. Kentucky will always be home. However, there is another part of my dream -- to play basketball in the NBA. I believe it is time to pursue that dream. Therefore, I will be entering my name into the NBA Draft today. BBN you have been with me from Day One, the faithful and passionate. I'm asking you to go with me on this journey. I'm looking forward to taking you with me.”
Sheppard’s decision was the most-highly watched NBA Draft decision process in recent memory at Kentucky. When Mark Pope was introduced as Kentucky coach, the crowd broke into an ovation and began chanting “one more year,” at just the mention of the word “shepherd.” Reed Sheppard wasn’t in the gym that day, but his father, Jeff, a player for the University of Kentucky was, as was his mother Stacey, who also played for UK.
Asked about Sheppard on his first UK radio show a day later, Pope said, “Reed is in that elite air status where he's a lottery pick. He's going to be the fourth or fifth or sixth or seventh pick in the NBA Draft,” Pope said. “And that is not something to be taken lightly. It's really extraordinary. The way he's going to be successful in his future is if he really searches inside himself and finds out where his heart is pulling him, in all honesty. You know, Jeff, and Stacey and Reed are very spiritual people, and will go where God is calling it. And that's just the truth. And, and so I told Shep (Jeff) I'm spending a lot of time praying that God will call him back to Kentucky. But we'll see how that goes.”
In the end, the call came elsewhere. Rex Chapman talked about the difficulty of the decision for Sheppard.
“Kentucky is Reed’s dream school. And he’s a Kentucky kid, Eastern Kentucky kid,” Chapman said. “And I know for a fact that they didn’t think any of this stuff would happen this fast. . . . You work your ass off to become as good as you can to play at the University of Kentucky and you do that, and now you’re forced to make a very adult decision. I’m happy he’s in this position. But man, it’s hard.”
But after being drafted, Sheppard was all smiles, after reaching a dream far ahead of schedule.
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