New UK Wildcats head coach Mark Pope, former BYU HC, has only one goal right now: bring in the freshman sensation Reed Sheppard returned to Lexington for his sophomore year.
“I spend a lot of time praying that God will call him back to Kentucky.”
However, what primarily stands in the way of this accomplishment is Reed Sheppard’s draft pedigree. He’s not physically imposing or obscenely athletic (although he’s a better athlete than people give him credit for), but that’s beside the point.
Sheppard is simply a great basketball player, and although he stands between 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-3, he has so many tools in his arsenal to overcome his lack of physical stature.
During the season, Reed Sheppard averaged 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists with absolutely blistering percentages from the field. The best example of his elite efficiency would be his true shooting numbers, abbreviated TS%, which, for Sheppard, is an extremely impressive 67.9%.
Part of the reason this number is out of the ordinary is that Sheppard is an excellent three-point shooter, hitting 52.1% of his shots from beyond the arc on a legitimate 4.4 3PFGA/game.
Sheppard’s ability to oscillate between the point and off-guard is also enticing, two areas he can play with a very advanced skill level, although he is a bit small, particularly when playing off-ball in as a guard.
Still, Sheppard’s offensive prowess along with his off-ball defense make him an extremely intriguing prospect to crack the top five or seven. And while in theory, yes, he could return to college and be drafted in the first round in 2025, there’s no guarantee of the same outcome.
The problem is, as good a pro prospect as Sheppard is, the 2025 NBA Draft is significantly more competitive at the top than this year’s class. If Sheppard had indeed returned to Kentucky, played as well or better, he could still find himself several picks lower than he would have been this year, with another year of his NBA career sacrificed to Big Blue Nation.
Sheppard isn’t the typical Kentucky recruit of the Calipari era — he would have played for the Wildcats regardless of coach, because he’s from the state.
Even though Sheppard’s dedication to UK makes him more beloved by fans than the average mercenary and 1-and-done player that Cal recruits, it’s simply obvious that the right move for Sheppard is to declare him sooner rather than later. possible.
Having seen hundreds of mocks at this point, Sheppard is in the top 10 for the vast majority of them and top 5 for a good chunk of them as well. He’s a special talent that could immediately help a team like the San Antonio Spurs or Charlotte Hornets as an off-ball guard who can switch responsibilities depending on the rotation on the court.
It’s simply not worth risking injury or losing multiple spots in the 2025 draft to give your school one more year. As offended as Kentuckians may be, Sheppard knows what he needs to do and will be named early enough in the 2024 NBA Draft.
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