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CBS Sports Calls Reed Sheppard One of the Biggest Surprises in College Basketball

Originally posted on KY Insider | By Wyatt Huff | Last updated 11/22/23

Coming into the season, Reed Sheppard was the fifth highest-ranked player of Kentucky’s 2023 recruiting class, ranked 79th. Four games in, he has arguably been the best freshman on the team.

Sheppard has come off the bench in all five contests, but has been extremely efficient and impactful. In just 23 minutes per game, Sheppard is averaging 10.6 points, 3.4 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.2 blocks. His shooting percentages are astronomical, ranking third in the nation in three-point percentage (min. 10 3P attempts; 66.7% 3P), and sixth in the nation for a guard in field goal percentage (66.7% FG).

Sheppard currently leads the Wildcats in the following categories:

Steals (17)
Field Goal Percentage (66.7%, 18-27)
Three Point Percentage (66.7%, 12-18)
Free Throw Percentage (100%, 5-5)
Plus/Minus (+101)

All of this culminated in one of the most efficient performances in recent college basketball history against Stonehill. Sheppard scored 25 points on seven threes and 9-10 shooting, and added 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 3 steals. According to EvanMiya, he is the first player in more than a decade (2011) to have such a stat line.

Reed Sheppard is the first freshman to score at least 25 points, make 7 three pointers, and miss only one field goal since 2018 in Division I.

If you add in his 7 assists today, only one other player in college has achieved that stat line since at least 2011.
— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) November 18, 2023

Reed’s 25-point performance puts him just shy of his parents and former Kentucky alumni career high of Jeff Sheppard (27) and Stacey Sheppard (26). This performance caught the eyes of the national media and the NBA.

CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish says Sheppard was “wildly underrated” coming into the season, ranked 79th in the class overall. Parrish says it’s unusual to see this level of contribution from a player ranked where Sheppard was in the class of 2023.

“To highlight just how unusual it is for a player ranked where Sheppard was ranked in high school to be contributing like this as a freshman at Kentucky, consider that a prospect ranked outside of the top 50 of his class (at 247Sports) has literally never played a major role as a freshman in any of the previous 14 years under Calipari,” Parrish said. “Again, Sheppard was ranked 79th in his class but has arguably been the WIldcats’ most impressive player so far this season.”

Reed Sheppard continues to get high praise from national folks who are taking notice of him.

Kentucky freshman Reed Sheppard is 12-17 from three-point range this season and has 11 assists to just four turnovers.

A burgeoning star in Lexington.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 18, 2023