Reed Sheppard’s mother and father are major basketball influences

Rockets coach Ime Udoka let out a smile that needed no explanation. He shared one anyway.

Reed Sheppard was introduced Tuesday as the draft pick that Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said he considers the top prospect in the class. Sheppard outlined his goals and priorities, much like NBA players have since last week’s draft. He talked about the challenges of being the son of Kentucky basketball royalty and how that has prepared him.

But when the third overall pick cited the influence of his parents, Stacey and Jeff Sheppard, Udoka heard the instruction that had been instilled in Sheppard long before he became a coveted prospect. Udoka knew that some of the coaches he values ​​most had been busy for a long time.

“We had dinner last night and got to meet the family,” Udoka said. “Stacey said it a few times: ‘You can’t be soft.’ That’s why I laughed. I know he’s heard it his whole life. I heard it about five times last night. It’s something I know I don’t have to tell him. If he gets soft, I can just call Mom.”

Sheppard wasn’t pushed to play basketball, as he was quick to say. But once he chose it, he had coaches to guide him, not only with his AAU teams and at North Laurel High School in London, Ky., but also on the way home and at the dinner table.

Jeff played professionally for four seasons, including 18 games with the Atlanta Hawks. But he says his son, a 6-foot-6 guard known primarily as a sharpshooter, plays like his mother, with a tenacity and versatility that comes from a willingness to do anything — whether it’s steals, deflections or a few extra rebounds — to win.

“They can say what they want about comparing me to Reed, but he’s on a whole other level than I ever imagined,” Stacey said.

But she also knew she had taught him well.

“I think it goes back to all the road trips Reed and I would take, going back and forth to AAU tournaments,” she said. “We would analyze and break down everything that was going on in the six games in two days, how you transition from offense to defense, how you mentally prepare when you step on the field. Those were our journeys — how to do this better or do that better.”

Jeff Sheppard won two national championships and was one of the standout players in the Final Four at Kentucky, where he met former senior Stacey Reed, still one of the school’s top 10 scorers.

“I learned a lot from my parents, more from my parents than from my parents,” Sheppard said. “They both played a huge role in the whole basketball journey. The biggest thing they taught me was work hard, compete, don’t let anybody beat me. It doesn’t matter if something hurts me. I fight through it. I can’t be soft. That was one of Dad’s biggest words — Mom and Dad. You can’t be soft.”

“As far as IQ goes, a lot of that information comes from my mom, so I have her to thank for that. I’ve been very grateful to them throughout this journey. They’ve supported me throughout the journey.”

When their son Reed became a basketball player, Kentucky’s usual spotlight became more focused, becoming more and more focused as he became Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 2023. After taking a series of recruiting visits, trying to consider options, he of course made it to Kentucky, whose Lexington campus is 75 miles from London.

“I always dreamed of playing at the University of Kentucky,” Sheppard said.

Being a prized recruit at one of basketball’s traditional powers is a source of pressure, but perhaps even more so at Kentucky, where Wildcat basketball is the state’s obsession.

“He was under a lot of pressure at Kentucky State. He started middle school and everyone would come to the gym to watch him play,” Stacey said. “They would always have positive or negative comments. At Kentucky, that was magnified in a big way. I think it prepared him for what’s next. Mentally, emotionally and physically, he’s ready.”

That experience prepared Sheppard to be the third player selected in the draft and make his summer league debut in prime time against the Lakers and Bronny James, another player who knows a thing or two about getting into the family business.

“As far as pressure, I think it’s just basketball,” Sheppard said. “I love basketball. I love competing. I love playing. I love bonding with my teammates on and off the court.”

“The pressure, yes, there is. But it’s even more there if you’re worried about what people are saying. It’s just about going out, playing the game you love, having fun, waking up every day with gratitude and being grateful for where you are and the position you’re in, and going out and competing.”

Sheppard was so determined to be competitive that when he visited the Rockets before the draft, he wanted to test himself against other draft prospects. Players in his situation typically run drills with no one else on the court, except for spotters and coaches chasing rebounds. Sheppard wanted someone to try to stop him, and he wanted to try to stop someone else.

“One thing that really stood out to me and the staff: When he came in (before the draft), he didn’t just want to practice; he wanted to compete, to compete against other guys,” Udoka said. “That’s really remarkable for someone who’s in a position to go as high as he has.”

“There’s a lot of things that Reed brought out: his shooting ability, his high IQ. He had a great experience with his parents. He was raised well and grew up in a basketball family in Kentucky. All of those things were impactful. And then you get to know the person. It’s a perfect combination.”

Sheppard described the values ​​the basketball player’s son could learn from a young age. When asked what would make him the kind of prospect Stone had at the top of his draft list, Sheppard said: “Just wanting to do whatever it takes to win, make the right basketball play. If somebody else is open in the corner, make that extra pass. If that’s coming in and trying to get a stop, whatever it is, just take the game of basketball very, very seriously, and every time you step on the court, play as hard as you can and be that teammate that no matter what, no matter what the coach and the team need, is going to do whatever it takes to get the team a win.”

Udoka had to work hard to keep the smile on his face that appeared when Sheppard often spoke of his determination to do “whatever it takes.” The basketball players who raised him may have appreciated that, too, but for all they taught him, Tuesday was all about being proud parents.

“As a dad, any time you see your kids excel at what they set out to do, it’s a very surreal experience,” Jeff Sheppard said. “Not many kids get the chance to play basketball in the NBA. We didn’t expect it to happen this quickly. But we’re just overwhelmed with gratitude and we’re enjoying the journey.”