Kentucky's Reed Sheppard proves to be John Calipari's most dangerous weapon
Reed Sheppard has been one of Kentucky's most impactful players all season long.
On Tuesday, he outdid even those lofty standards. Shepard was phenomenal throughout the No. 16 Wildcats' 91-89 road win over Mississippi State. The freshman racked up a career-high 32 points on a hyper-efficient 11-of-14 from the field (including 4-of-7 from three), adding seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
His effect on the contest went even further than that, though.
With just under a minute remaining, the Wildcats led 83-75 after a pair of free throws from freshman Rob Dillingham. The game was over.
Until it wasn't.
Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard nailed a three to cut the host's deficit to five, then hit another after a pair of Antonio Reeves foul shots. A Cameron Matthews' and-one, two free throws from Tolu Smith and two more from Sheppard made it 89-86 Kentucky with under 20 seconds remaining.
The fun was only beginning. On the ensuing Mississippi State possession, Hubbard nailed a triple. Tie game, 8.1 seconds on the clock.
Kentucky head coach John Calipari had two timeouts at his disposal. But instead, he trusted his guys to make a play. After D.J. Wagner was cut off by Hubbard, Sheppard did exactly that. The 19-year-old caught Wagner's pass, dribbled to his left and put up a running floater. Splash. Wildcats 91, Bulldogs 89.
For good measure, Sheppard caught the ensuing Mississippi State heave, a fitting ending to an utterly outstanding performance by the freshman.
"He plays to win," a boastful Calipari told reporters after the game.
Kentucky may have gotten the victory, but this team is still far from perfect.
The Bulldogs' shot over 51% from the field and outrebounded the Wildcats 34-27. Kentucky can run and gun with the best of them, but it needs more from big men Ugonna Onyenso, Zvonimir Ivisic and Aaron Bradshaw — and a return to action for Tre Mitchell, who Calipari said on Tuesday was getting closer to coming back from a shoulder injury.
But there's no doubt about where the Wildcats' strengths lie. Sheppard, Dillingham, Wagner, Reeves, Justin Edwards and Adou Thiero make up a backcourt group that puts an extreme amount of pressure on opposing defenses.
Against Mississippi State, Sheppard was the guy to take that mantra and run with it. Kentucky's third-leading scorer, the in-state product was the fifth-highest-rated recruit in the Wildcat's loaded freshman class — behind Edwards, Bradshaw, Wagner and Dillingham. Yet he just might be the difference-maker for Calipari's 15th team in Lexington.
He certainly is the latest example of the level of trust the 65-year-old has in his young backcourt studs.
"There'll be some that [will say], 'Why didn’t you call a timeout?'" Calipari said in a mocking voice. "Because of what just happened. They can’t set up their defense, they had no timeouts, and you look at D.J. and say, 'Make something happen.' And the ball ends up in Reed’s hand and he goes and makes it, and we win the game."
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