Signing with Kentucky a "dream" for Reed Sheppard, but focus is on senior season

There was a spread of blue and white icing-colored baked goods lining the open space in the middle of the North Laurel high school auditorium. University of Kentucky logos covered the sheet cake and cupcakes as a celebration was brewing. Students, parents, and staff members began to fill the room, which featured a North Laurel-themed backdrop up on centerstage along with a table that had four fold-out chairs pushed all the way in.

We were just 15 minutes away from Reed Sheppard realizing his dream of signing his National Letter of Intent to play basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats.

It was nearly one year ago to the day that Sheppard initially committed to Kentucky and head coach John Calipari. The ‘Cats offered him back in July 2021 following a breakout summer on the AAU circuit and he wasted little time before making his decision near the end of the year on Nov. 21. Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, was more of a formality, though. The moment Sheppard earned that scholarship from Calipari, he wasn’t going to be anything but a ‘Cat.

“It felt awesome. Like I said earlier, being a kid from Kentucky, a little boy, that’s always been a dream of mine, to go to Kentucky,” Sheppard told the media after signing his NLI on Wednesday. “A year ago making that decision felt awesome but finally being able to finally put the pen to paper and make it official, it felt amazing, and it’s something that I’ll never forget and it’s something that I’m super excited to be a part of.”

“For Reed to be able to officially sign with Kentucky is really special,” Jeff Sheppard, Reed’s father and former 1998 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player at Kentucky, said. “One, just from a parents’ perspective, we’re proud of our kids, we’re proud of our son, we would have been proud with any school that he picked, but we’re also Kentucky fans. We’re Kentucky folks. We live in a community that is crazy about Kentucky and we live in a state that is crazy about Kentucky. You put all that together and it’s pretty special, to say the least.”

Both Jeff and his wife, Stacey, starred on the hardwood during their college days at UK in the late 1990s. Reed was born in the Bluegrass State, raised in London, and has grown up following and loving Wildcat hoops. It would have been a shock if he chose any school but Kentucky. A double-legacy recruit is about as firm of a lock as you can get.

Reed Sheppard is officially a Kentucky Wildcat!

First to sign from the class of 2023. pic.twitter.com/pQFM0pLp9x

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) November 9, 2022

But signing with Kentucky was just another step in what will hopefully be a very long and fruitful basketball career for Sheppard. Before he even steps on UK’s campus as a student, he’ll have to finish up his senior season of high school at North Laurel, where expectations are going to be incredibly high for Sheppard and his entire team.

North Laurel made it to the KHSAA Sweet 16 Tournament this past year but was knocked out of the first round by Pikeville. The Jaguars should be even better this time around though, and one of the preseason favorites to win the state title. North Laurel head coach Nate Valentine returned the vast majority of his team’s production from a year ago, saw significant improvement from the young talent, and added a bruiser in the paint with 6-foot-4, 230-pound forward Gavin Chadwell, who recently transferred from Knox Central.

Sheppard, who won Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior, is the obvious star of the group, but he’s always been short on the help required to make a deep tournament run. That shouldn’t be the case this year, especially with another offseason of development from key pieces such as Ryan Davidson (Reed’s cousin) and Brody Brock. Coach Valentine has crafted a schedule he admits might be too tough with multiple national events on the slate and a tough in-state path, but it’s all with the goal of being ready to go deep into the weekend at Rupp Arena next spring.

“Right now, that’s all I’m focused on really,” Sheppard said. “Everything with Kentucky right now is awesome and it’s a dream come true but I got one year left of spending with my friends and playing with my lifelong friends, we’ve all grown up together, played together, so my mind is all on this high school season and trying to go as far as we can in the postseason and just have as much fun as we can this year and this season.”

“It’s probably — it’s not probably, (the schedule) is too much for a high school team,” Valentine added with a slight smirk. “There should be no surprises. When we get to the region, hopefully get on to the state tournament, there should be no surprises.”

Throughout the offseason, Sheppard has been “religious”, as his head coach describes it, about his body. He has added 10-15 pounds of muscle over the summer and has made a serious commitment to that aspect of the game, including monitoring his diet. It’ll give Sheppard a head start once he finally does get to Kentucky, too. But more immediately, it should make dealing with double teams (or even triple teams) and finishing through contact that much easier this season.

Sheppard’s final high school journey will all begin in just a few short weeks when North Laurel hosts Lexington Catholic on Nov. 28. It’ll be his final ride with the Jaguars, where he’s played basketball with the same group of teammates since the sixth grade.

“He’s just a terrific kid, he deserves everything he gets,” Coach Valentine said of Sheppard. “Nothing has been easy for him, been in the spotlight and everybody thinks that’s great until you’re in it. But he’s handled it tremendously and a lot of humility with him. He’s a great teammate. Students love him, teachers love him. I’m just thrilled for him.”