Reed Sheppard reveals what he has learned from Kentucky assistant Tyler Ulis

Tyler Ulis has extended his time at Kentucky over the past year by joining John Calipari’s bench after being an All-American for the Wildcats almost a decade and a half ago. Now, he is making a big impact on the next group of UK players.

That group includes freshman guard Reed Sheppard. While in Canada playing in this summer’s GLOBL Jam, Sheppard talked about the special opportunity that Ulis provides to their team, specifically the backcourt, to learn from someone who knows the game and succeeded in Lexington as much as anyone in the past few years.

“He’s giving really, really good stuff over there. I’m really glad that we have him on the bench to help us,” Sheppard said. “He was a crazy good player so being able to listen to him is really easy. He knows exactly what he’s talking about. And he just tells us how to play basketball the right way.”

“He knows what he’s looking for and he knows what he’s telling us to do. So it’s really, really fun listening to him and being able to hear what he has to say,” said Sheppard.

Over two seasons at Kentucky, Ulis played in 72 games for Calipari and the Wildcats. In those appearances, he averaged 11.3 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.

As a freshman, he came off the bench and ran the second unit on the Kentucky team that went 38-1 in ’14-’15. Then, as a sophomore, he took over as a full-time starter with averages of 17.3 points, seven assists, and 1.5 steals per game in 36.8 minutes a night. In that campaign, Ulis was both SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year as well as a Consensus All-American.

Now, after a short pro career, Ulis, his basketball IQ, and his resume are all back in the bluegrass. He seemingly made an impact already last year and, ahead of his first full season on the staff, appears to be doing more of the same according to Sheppard.

Gilgeous-Alexander speaks to Kentucky after GLOBL Jam

John Calipari has made a habit of putting players into the NBA at Kentucky. The program’s overall success on that front has created several big-time names for the next groups of Wildcats to look up to.

After UK’s gold medal win over Canada at the GLOBL Jam in Toronto, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a former four-star for Kentucky as well as an All-Star and First Team All-NBA selection this past year, was the latest alumni to share words of wisdom to the newest group of ‘Cats.

"I love the way you guys play basketball … You guys play for each other."

🗣️ @shaiglalex pic.twitter.com/0TiSg5M0hL

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

“I just want to say a few things. I love the way you guys play basketball. You guys move it, you play for each other. You guys can all pass, shoot, and dribble. That’s going to take you guys a long way,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s where the league is going. I’m sure you guys know that.”

“Just keep being selfless and keep working hard. I’m sure you guys hear it all the time,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “But you guys are talented and, if you stick together, you guys will be very good for sure.”