Reed Sheppard finishes the season top 10 in Kentucky history in five categories

Whether Reed Sheppard shocks the basketball world and returns to Kentucky for a sophomore season, or presses on to the NBA for a life of professional piques and fortune, his impact during his time in Lexington has been huge. I mean, it would have been much cooler had he propelled his team to something better than an 0-2 postseason record, but the legacy kid from North Laurel far exceeded expectations in the regular season and earned National Freshman of the Year honors because of it.

In total, Sheppard finished the year in the top 10 in school history in five different statistical categories.

• 1st in 3-point field goal percentage (52.1)
• 2nd in steals (82)
• 5th in made 3-pointers (75)
• 8th in assists (148)
• 9th in free throw percentage (83.1)

What is crazy about these stats is that they easily could have been better. He was on pace to beat Rajon Rondo’s single-season steals record for most of the year, but a shortened postseason spelled doom for Sheppard’s ability to take the top spot. Rondo got 87 steals in 34 games, whereas Sheppard only played in 33. Had the Wildcats advanced to another game in the SEC Tournament and made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, Sheppard would have most likely passed Rondo if he matched his season average of 2.5 steals per game.

In addition to steals, Sheppard will also go down in history with the second-most blocked shots for a guard, only behind Deandre Liggins.

As for 3-point shooting, there has perhaps no one better in Kentucky history. However, even though he made the fifth most 3s in a single season and shot an uncanny 51.1 percent from behind the arc, fans would have loved to have seen him shoot more often. The best Reed Sheppard was an aggressive Reed Sheppard, and fans wouldn’t have minded seeing his percentage drop below 50 percent if he had launched the ball more often.

Regardless, combine his defense and shooting with the fact that he also managed the 8th most assists in a single season, and you get one of the most well-rounded players ever to don a Kentucky jersey.

We do not know what the future holds for #15, but no matter what happens, he will likely never have to buy a pizza in Lexington ever again.