Reed Sheppard Remains Open After ‘Dream’ Offer From Kentucky
Reed Sheppard has reached the point in his recruitment where he’s got to whip out his cellphone to use as a cheat sheet in order to accurately reel off the list of colleges who have offered him.
“Yeah, there are too many,” Sheppard said. “I can’t remember all of these.”
It’s easier to recite his offer list from the weekend at the adidas 3SSB in Hoover, Alabama, because one of the three was a “dream offer,” according to Sheppard.
The 6-foot-2 shooting guard is the son of former Kentucky men's basketball star Jeff Sheppard and women's basketball star Stacey Reed, which made the Wildcats’ offer this past weekend “pretty special” to say the least.
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“Being from Kentucky and playing high school basketball in Kentucky it’s every kid’s dream to play at Kentucky,” said Reed, who also picked up offers from Ohio State and Indiana over the weekend. “Of course, I also have the fact that my parents played there going too. So, yeah, I’m from there so of course I grew up a fan. I’m extremely thankful for the offer.”
Sheppard has consistently proven worthy of his offers, dominating the competition with North Laurel (London, Ky.) this past season to the tune of 30.3 points a game.
He showed his marksman-like accuracy and playmaking ability all weekend at the adidas 3SSB event with Midwest Basketball Club (Ohio), averaging 17 points a game.
Sheppard said he “had no idea” the Kentucky offer would be coming this weekend.
“Coach (John) Calipari called me with Coach (Orlando) Antigua, and I thought they were gonna tell me that they enjoyed watching me play,” Sheppard recalled. “When it happened we were all so shocked. My mouth probably dropped open and everything. Just wasn’t expecting it.”
Excitement aside, Sheppard said, with two years left in high school, he’s “in no hurry” to make a decision and when the time comes his history with Big Blue Nation and his family ties to the school won’t factor in as heavy as some might assume.
Sheppard has already visited Louisville and Virginia.
“It’ll really be about where I feel like I’ll be the most at home and where the players and the coaches feel like family to me,” Sheppard said. “I don’t know where that’ll be at all. I’m just taking my time with everything. I plan to take more visits and go through the process.”