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Reed Sheppard from Kentucky to the Houston Rockets at No. 3

TheoJune 27, 2024

Reed Sheppard’s rapid rise in the basketball world continued Wednesday night, as the Houston Rockets selected him in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft.

The Rockets selected the former Kentucky star with the 3rd overall pick. Sheppard is the first Kentucky high school graduate to be a top-10 pick in the NBA draft since former Louisville star (and Eastern High graduate) Felton Spencer was the sixth player selected in 1990. last Kentucky high school alumnus to play for UK and then become a top-10 pick was Rex Chapman (8th overall, 1988).

Sheppard, who played for the last Kentucky team coached by John Calipari, is a UK legacy who joined the program as part of the nation’s top-ranked 2023 recruiting class — though unlike five-star signees Aaron Bradshaw, Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner, Sheppard wasn’t expected to be a one-and-done Wildcat.

Here’s what you need to know about Sheppard, the Wildcats’ latest first-round NBA draftee:

Reed Sheppard scouting report as he enters NBA

Although Sheppard isn’t the tallest prospect (he’s just under 6ft 2in), his shooting was second to none last season at UK, while also demonstrating innate instincts for distributing the ball, drag it over opponents and block shots. the perimeter.

“Can score points, especially off screen, using floaters or transitioning,” USA TODAY’s Jeff Zillgitt and Scooby Axson wrote earlier this month: “He lacks high-level athleticism, but he handles the ball well enough to merit consideration as a point guard.” He will be competitive defensively and rebounds well for his size. »

Reed Sheppard Kentucky Stats and Highlights

It was hard to play much better or more efficiently than Sheppard during his lone campaign in Lexington. He led the team in assists (4.5) and steals (2.5) per game while averaging 12.5 points and 4.1 rebounds. Sheppard connected on more than half of his 3-point attempts — 52.1 percent (75-for-144), to be exact. This percentage placed it at the top of the list of the most accurate 3-point shooters in the program.

Defensively, his 82 interceptions were the second most in a season in Kentucky’s illustrious history – six shy of Rajon Rondo’s mark.

Although Sheppard featured in all 33 of UK’s games last season, he mainly came off the bench; he only made five starts.

Reed Sheppard’s recruiting rankings out of high school

Sheppard was a consensus four-star prospect in the 2023 class out of North Laurel High School in London. All four major recruiting services – Rivals, ESPN, 247Sports and On3 – ranked him among the top 80 players in the country in his class. ESPN ranked him 23rd, while On3 and Rivals placed him 27th and 28th, respectively. 247Sports was well behind Sheppard’s other three services, placing him at No. 79 in the 2023 cycle. According to the 247Sports Composite, Sheppard was the No. 9 combo guard nationally among 2023 prospects.

Reed Sheppard Height and Weight

At the time of the NBA draft, Sheppard was 6 feet 1.75 (without shoes) and weighed 181.6 pounds. On Kentucky’s official roster for the 2023-24 season, Sheppard was listed at 6-foot-3 and 187 pounds.

Comparison of Reed Sheppard in the NBA

NBAdraft.net wrote that Sheppard’s best professional lineup was a combination of Mark Price and Jimmer Fredette. Sporting News compared Sheppard to Kyle Lowry (at the high end), Derrick White (at the mid-range) and Patty Mills (at the low end of his potential). Bleacher Report used Donte DiVincenzo as a comparison to Sheppard. The Ringer wrote that Sheppard had “shades of” White and Steve Nash. The highest praise came from ESPN, which named Payton Pritchard at the bottom and Nash — a Hall of Famer — as Sheppard’s ceiling.