John Calipari on Reed Sheppard’s playmaking: ‘He’s just like his mother’

When most fans watch Reed Sheppard soar toward the rim, they see a breathing reflection of his father, Jeff. When Kentucky head coach John Calipari watches his freshman guard, he sees Sheppard’s mother, Stacey.

After Kentucky’s 63-57 win over Arkansas on Saturday, a reporter asked Calipari about Sheppard’s performance. The 64-year-old head coach was quick to point to Sheppard’s lineage.

“That’s who he is. He’s just like his mother. That’s how she played. His dad shot it every time,” Calipari said jokingly. “His mother: assists, deflections, and still scored and ran the team.”

It’s a complimentary comparison. Stacey Sheppard, formerly known as Stacey Reed, has her name all over the Kentucky women’s basketball record books. She is the program’s all-time leader in steals per game (2.7), fourth in assists per game (3.9), and seventh in three-pointers made (175).

While Reed Sheppard hasn’t played long enough to etch his name into the record books, he’s certainly off to a hot start. Sheppard averages the 17th-most steals in the country per game (2.39) while shooting 54.3% from the field and 55.3% from beyond the arc.

His performance on Saturday was no exception. Sheppard tallied 14 points, five assists and four steals while connecting on 2-of-his-3 attempts from deep. With 1:41 left in the game, Sheppard drained a 3-pointer to effectively put the Razorbacks on ice.

The showing was a major bounce back for Sheppard. In Kentucky’s 79-62 loss to South Carolina, Sheppard failed to find a rhythm, finishing the game with three points and two turnovers. Calipari adjusted his minutes, accordingly.

Sheppard only played 15 minutes against South Carolina, the least in his collegiate career yet. On Saturday, Sheppard regained Calipari’s trust.

“I told him, ‘You come up to me in the game and you say stick with me coach. Just stick with me,'” Calipari said. “Because in South Carolina, he had the deer in the headlights look and I didn’t go back to him. If he had come up to me and [said], ‘Just stick with me. I’ll be fine,’ I probably would have played him.

“We were able to grind it and figure out, we did stuff we haven’t done all year and I’ve got a really smart team that we can do it, to try to… Most teams are scouting to the point of it’s ridiculous. So you almost have to put wrinkles in and tweak stuff week to week.”

Fans won’t have to wait long to watch Sheppard shine again. On Wednesday, Kentucky will square off against Florida at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.