Top-50 rising junior Reed Sheppard discusses his recruitment
It has been quite the summer for North Laurel’s (KY) Reed Sheppard. The 6-foot-2 guard started his summer off with scholarship offers from local Louisville and Arizona State in June, followed by that he landed an influx of offers in the weeks after that including Indiana, Iowa, Texas A&M, amongst many others.
He averaged over 30.5 points during his sophomore campaign, which ended a couple of months back.
I had the chance to watch Sheppard during the live period on June 18th at the Titans/Rockets Shootout and man, I was blown away. His leadership, his ability to get his teammates involved, his super smooth offensive game, reading the passing lanes, just all over the floor, and so much more. It’s safe to say I believe that he’s a Top-50 caliber player.
So, at that live period event, I had Virginia’s Tony Bennett to my left, and nearby on my right side was Michigan’s Juwan Howard, both watching Reed Sheppard along with UC’s Wes Miller, Louisville, and Texas A&M. It’s very clear that Sheppard is a national commodity but a very big scholarship offer came in after his impressive showing with Midwest Basketball club, an Adidas 3SSB program.
On July 8th, John Calipari and his staff gathered in Alabama to watch Sheppard. His father Jeff, his mother Stacey, both starred for Kentucky’s basketball program in the ’90s, so this recruitment does have ties to it, nothing that wasn’t already out there. Anyways, like myself first was when I saw Sheppard, UK’s staff felt the exact same: Blown away.
The Wildcats would end up offering the next day, which was major in the recruitment of Sheppard.
So, let’s hear more about his recruitment. Sheppard caught up with Stockrisers.com immediately following a workout.
Which schools are involved in your recruitment actively?
“Virginia, Clemson, Gonzaga, Michigan, and then all the schools that have offered.”
How was your campus visit to Louisville?
“It was a great visit. It was good to finally be able to meet the coaches. They have unbelievable facilities and the campus as well, it’s a great school with great coaches and staff.”
What was that recent Kentucky offer like for you?
“It was something to be very thankful for. It’s every kid in Kentucky’s dream to play at Kentucky and now that I have that opportunity is something to be thankful for, but I am going to take my time and see how everything plays out and wherever god wants me is where I will be.”
And Virginia? Tony Bennett watched you in June, what are your thoughts on him and UVA?
“Coach Bennett is a good coach but more than that he is a tremendous man. UVA has a really pretty campus and it’s not too big so it’s really nice. It was a blessing to be able to take a visit there and meet all the coaches and see what they have going on.”
Any other visits you have planned or plan on taking?
“No, I don’t have any visits planned. I’m going to enjoy my July and try and win as many games as I can with my travel ball team and then when it’s over I’ll start to think about some schools to visit.”
Now your game, how would you best describe your game?
“I am going to do whatever it takes to help my team win. I don’t have to score to be happy I would rather get my teammates open shots and see them score than see myself score, but I can also make some threes and get a bucket if I need to.”
Do you emulate your game after anybody?
“I try and get to my mid-range shot like [Devin] Booker but other than that I just go out and do whatever I need to do that will help my team win.”
Finally, what is your overall goal this summer?
“To win (!) I want to win as many games as possible during July. Once summer ball is over then I will work on my strength and start to get back in the gym with my high school teammates.”