Kentucky signee Reed Sheppard: "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to win"

Reed Sheppard was raised in a ‘Kentucky Wildcats home’. His father, Jeff Sheppard, was a two-time national champion with the Wildcats (’96, ’98), and later went on to play professionally briefly. His mother, Stacey Reed Sheppard, finished as a top-10 all-time leading scorer for the Wildcats.

In a few short months, Reed will move just an hour north to Lexington, and officially be apart of the culture that he grew up entrenched in.

I recently caught up with Reed and did a quick Q&A. Here is our conversation.

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What do you like to do in your free time, besides basketball?

Sheppard: “Just hang out with friends and family, really. Anything outside. I don’t play any video games. I’ve never had a console, so just being outdoors, like hunting, fishing, anything with my friends and family. That’s my favorite thing to do.”

What can the Kentucky fan base expect from you as a player?

Sheppard: “Just someone that’s willing to win. Doing whatever it takes to win. If I need to go out and get five rebounds and nothing else, then I’ll go out and get five rebounds and nothing else. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win and I’m gonna have fun while I do it.”

What aspects of your game do you want to improve the most?

Sheppard: “Really just everything, you know, just all around. Ball handling, shooting, defense, everything. Just keep getting in the gym, keep working on everything, improving every part of my game.”

What do you expect your role to be as a freshman at UK?

Sheppard: “Whatever I need to do really. We haven’t talked about it much, but when I get up there, if I need to get ’em water, then I’ll get ’em some water. If I need to go in and make a shot, I’ll go make a shot. But really just doing whatever Coach Cal and the other coaches tell me to do, I’ll do it with the best of my ability.”

What are you most excited about once you get on campus?

Sheppard: “I’d say just meeting new friends and playing with new people. I’m super excited. I think we got a pretty good class coming in, so I’m super excited to play with all them. They’re all super talented, so I think it’ll be super fun.”

Have you been able to meet all the incoming freshman? (Aaron Bradshaw, DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards, Rob Dillingham)

Sheppard: “I’ve met ’em all. We all hung out at Big Blue Madness. They’re all super nice dudes and I’m looking forward to it.”

What’s a message that you have for Kentucky fans?

Sheppard: “Get ready. I think it’s gonna be a special group coming in.”

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Reed Sheppard committed to Kentucky on November 20th, 2021. He chose the Wildcats over offers from Louisville, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio State and others.