Reed Sheppard makes his own history vs. Louisville with assists record

Unlike a lot of his teammates, Reed Sheppard knows all about the Kentucky vs. Louisville rivalry. The son of two Kentucky Basketball legends, Reed cut his teeth on the Cats vs. the Cards. Tonight, he got his first shot at it and he did not disappoint.

Reed came off the bench to not only notch his first career double-double but set a Kentucky vs. Louisville record in the 95-76 victory. Reed’s 11 assists are the most by a Kentucky player ever in the series, topping nine by Sahvir Wheeler (2022), Richie Farmer (1989), and Dicky Beal (1984). He also had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers in 27 minutes. Reed finished with a team-high +27, reclaiming the efficiency crown from Aaron Bradshaw.

In true Reed fashion, he mentioned his teammates first during his postgame conversation with Goose Givens.

“It’s a Louisville-Kentucky game; it’s always fun. But I gotta give credit to my teammates. We came out and we fought. We knew they were gonna give us their best shot and they did. But we stayed together as a team. When they went on their little run at the beginning, we just stuck together and did what we needed to do.”

Face cuts bode well for the Cats vs. Louisville… pic.twitter.com/KuWxcgzrhH

— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) December 21, 2023

Reed had to leave the game in the first half with a cut on his face, conjuring memories of a bloody Tyler Ulis in his first Kentucky vs. Louisville game in 2014. Like Ulis, Reed didn’t stay out long, playing with the cut the rest of the way en route to a gutsy performance.

“You gotta love it,” Reed said when asked about his battle wound. “I mean, that’s what basketball is, especially this game. Louisville-Kentucky is always a physical game. Everyone wants to win this game, everyone’s watching this game so it’s always a physical game.”

Reed’s performance was just one part of Kentucky’s impressive 19-point victory. When the freshmen got off to a rocky start, the veterans took over. Antonio Reeves scored 22 points en route to 30. Tre Mitchell had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Even Justin Edwards, the one Kentucky freshman who hadn’t quite clicked yet, came alive after halftime, scoring 11 second-half points to finish with 13 and 7 rebounds.

“How about Justin?” Reed said. “Justin played a great game. Tone [Reeves] was not missing in the first half. So everyone played really good tonight and we were all excited to play in the game.”

“You know that no matter what, something good is gonna happen”

Those performances were especially important given that two of Kentucky’s starters, DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw, finished with only two points apiece. The fact that Kentucky can survive off nights from some of its most important freshmen is one of its strengths.

“You know what’s great about this team?” John Calipari said. “There’s no pressure on you. ‘Well, if I don’t play well, we lose.’ Not one player. So go out and play loose and have fun. Because if you’re not playing well, I just won’t play you as much and we’ll still win and then you can figure it out.”

Reed, speaking at the same time as his coach, said pretty much the exact same thing.

“That’s the good thing about us; no matter what you do, you can pass to the right or to the left, and something good is gonna happen. We got eight or nine guys that can go on and just make a play. And you know no matter what, something good is gonna happen. And when everyone’s hitting shots, it’s really, really fun to play.”

Reed Sheppard will play in bigger games during his career at Kentucky; however, the one vs. Louisville will always be special, from his team’s performance to the Big Blue Nation taking over the Yum Center.

“This was always a game that growing up, I wanted to watch,” he said. “It was always a big game in the house. And anytime we could go to the game and actually watch it, it was really, really cool. So now being able to play in it and being able to play it at Louisville and looking up and seeing all kinds of blue, it was really, really cool.”