Reed Sheppard never seriously considered Louisville: "I was always coming to Kentucky."

Reed Sheppard was literally born to play basketball at Kentucky. Both of his parents are living legends from their time on the hardwood as Wildcats. Once it was clear Sheppard also had the talent to play at Kentucky, his fate was sealed.

But that didn’t stop other schools from trying to pry him away from Lexington. One of those programs was the Louisville Cardinals, Kentucky’s main rival and next opponent. When Sheppard was still in high school at North Laurel, former Louisville head coach Chris Mack attempted to convert the lifelong Kentucky fan into a Cardinal. Sheppard even took a visit to Louisville in June 2021 and earned an offer from Mack.

It was all for nothing though. Kentucky extended an offer to Sheppard the following month. He took multiple visits to Lexington in the fall and ultimately committed to the Wildcats that November. It was always a pipe dream to begin with, but Louisville never truly had a chance at landing the legacy recruit.

“Nah. I was always coming to Kentucky,” Sheppard said on Wednesday before giving UL some praise. “I enjoyed the process (with Louisville). I enjoyed visiting there and being able to go see the coaches and watch the team practice. They have a really nice facility, nice coaches, it’s a really good school.

“I know Kentucky people don’t really like Louisville but Louisville is still a really nice school and they have a really good thing going over there.”

Did Reed Sheppard ever consider going to Louisville? The Cardinals offered Sheppard and he even took a visit to campus before ultimately landing in Lexington.

"Nah. I was always coming to Kentucky." pic.twitter.com/dqtO7dIo3s

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) December 20, 2023

That was about the nicest way Sheppard could have phrased his answer, too.

As the Big Blue Nation knows all too well, Louisville is, in fact, not doing good right now. Quite the opposite, actually. Kenny Payne is on the chopping block after a 4-28 record in his first season as head coach has turned into a 5-6 start in year two. A bad loss to Kentucky on Thursday night at the KFC Yum! Center could be the final nail in the coffin for Payne.

It would be fitting for Sheppard to be the one who helps drive it in. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.