Reed Sheppard blocks a shot in GLOBL Jam Gold Medal game

Reed Sheppard has only played in a Kentucky uniform for a couple of games at Globl Jam, but it’s safe to say Wildcat fans couldn’t be more excited about his bright future in Lexington. The former four-star prospect was rated as a No. 38 overall player in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings.

During his first three games at the Globl Jam, Sheppard dished out 18 assists to just three turnovers in three games. He was dominant once again on Sunday in the gold medal game vs. Canada. In the fourth quarter, Sheppard had a sloppy pass stolen, but he made an excellent recovery. He chased his man down from behind and swatted the ball out of bounds. It was an impressive chase-down block.

Check it out below.

Sheppard BLOCK 🚫🚫🚫 pic.twitter.com/q5Lvlnp3Fq

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 17, 2023

Earlier in the game, he split two defenders in the open floor for a dunk. While it’s always wise to not put much stock in foreign tours, it’s safe to say Reed Sheppard has great things ahead of him in Lexington.

Sheppard will wear his father, Jeff’s number, No. 15, during the 2023-2024 college basketball season. Reed’s father helped Kentucky to their 1996 and 1998 NCAA Championship victories, including winning the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player award during the ’98 run.

Kentucky ended up winning the game by the score of 89-72–bringing home the gold medal for Team USA in the process.

No one knew what to expect of Kentucky when they arrived to play in the GLOBL Jam this week. Now, as they leave Toronto, the program has given the Big Blue Nation a lot to be excited about while also picking up some hardware for themselves.

Kentucky went 4-0 over a quartet of contests while north of the border this past week.

Antonio Reeves put up incredible scoring numbers as the GLOBL Jam MVP in Canada. He averaged 23 points per game while shooting a blistering 57.5% from the field. He also connected on 18 three-pointers as he shot a scorching 53.5% from three.

Kentucky’s freshmen also showed out in a big way while in Toronto. D.J. Wagner along with Justin Edwards, Reed Sheppard, and Rob Dillingham all had moments throughout the week that justified their rankings as the top recruiting class in the nation coming into the year.

The pressure is certainly on this year for the Wildcats and their head coach, John Calipari. But it’s clear this squad has plenty of talented and promising pieces that should make for a very strong season in the 2023-2024 campaign.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater and Barkley Truax also contributed to this article.