Reed Sheppard ready to find his role at Kentucky

Reed Sheppard, although a legacy recruit for the Wildcats, falls in the middle of the pack when it comes to Kentucky’s incoming recruiting class. That doesn’t matter to him, though, as he only wants to star in his role, whatever that may be, at UK.

Sheppard spoke with the media about taking a step back in Lexington compared to what he did at North Laurel. He said that change in dynamic won’t make a difference to him because, in the end, his sole focus is on winning and doing it a bunch with his teammates.

“I’m excited to be able to do whatever it takes to win,” Sheppard said. “I don’t care if I go out and shoot five shots or I shoot 20 shots. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win,” said Sheppard. “Just have fun with, keep enjoying the process, and keep having fun with my teammates.”

In a recent batch of scoop from KSR’s Jack Pilgrim, he proved Sheppard’s statement’s couldn’t be more true. Ahead of Kentucky’s games in the GLOBL JAM this week, he said the former former four-star and top recruit out of the bluegrass is already becoming highly impactful as a cog within the machine rather than the engine.

“Reed Sheppard continues to turn heads in practice with consensus optimism regarding his potential impact on the floor sooner rather than later,” wrote Pilgrim. “The McDonald’s All-American is making shots and impressing as a facilitator while also fighting defensively. He’s going to play as a freshman — and potentially a lot.”

Kentucky’s backcourt and wings are crowded positions in a good way. Sheppard will be sharing the rock with the likes of DJ Wagner, Antonio Reeves, Rob Dillingham, Adou Thiero, and Justin Edwards around the perimeter.

Even so, his touches aren’t where his mind his at. At the end of the day, his goal is winning and he’s happy with it coming in any way, no matter what that means regarding his role and individual statistics.

Sheppard discusses special meaning behind No. 15 jersey

Reed Sheppard isn’t your normal Kentucky commitment. As a four-star prospect, Top-40 recruit, and the No. 1 player out of the state Kentucky, the North Laurel product arrives as highly-touted as all the other Wildcat freshman. However, his family ties take his connection to Lexington to a whole other level.

That’s especially true now that Sheppard will be switching his high school jersey of No. 3 to No. 15, the number that his father, Jeff Sheppard, wore back in the mid-90s. Based on UK’s current roster, Sheppard’s son said that he realized that a number switch was possible and that it could be this meaningful for his family.

“Adou is wearing No. 3. So I figured, after that, I would just have to go with pop’s old number and rock the fifteen,” Sheppard said.

“I definitely thought about it. I kind of always kept it to myself though,” said Sheppard. “But I never told him. In my head, I was like I’m probably gonna wear No. 15. But I never said anything to him. So this year was the first time he ever heard about it.

From there, Sheppard explained the moment when he told his father that he’d be honoring him with his number switch this season. He described it as “cool” and said how it “shocked” Jeff considering what that represented for his father.

“It was really cool. It was cool for me to be able to tell him. And it shocked him. I don’t think he was expecting it just because I wore three my whole life,” said Sheppard. “After I told him? It was a really cool moment.”