VIP camp guest Myles Bell treated like royalty by Reed Sheppard and his mother

Myles Bell with UK commit Reed Sheppard. (Mary Bell Photo)

Less than 48 hours after shining on ESPN for Midwest Basketball Club, North Laurel senior Reed Sheppard was in Georgetown Thursday afternoon conducting a Players First Basketball ProCamp with about 100 participants in grades one through eight.

Danville’s Myles Bell and his mother, Mary, were VIP guests of the Kentucky signee because Mary’s sister-in-law is best friends with Reed’s grandmother.

Myles also happens to be an avid Kentucky fan — he was in London for the Kroger Tour and coach John Calipari brought him up for the first autograph — and also one of the kindest young men you will ever know.

Myles had sent get-well cards twice to Stacey Reed Sheppard, Reed’s mother. One was after a surgery and the second as she was recovering from COVID.

“Myles didn’t really know her but he wanted to write,” Mary said Thursday. “We had never met her until today. We got to sit with her and Reed’s girlfriend and Stacey gave him a big hug for writing those cards to her.”

Turns out Stacey Sheppard had actually help set it up for Calipari to look for Myles at the London Kroger. The Sheppards were out of town when the UK coach and players visited their hometown  but she took care of her friend.

“Myles was so thrilled to get an email invitation to be a guest at the camp. Reed autographed a ball for him and got a T-shirt in every color. They all treated him like royalty,” Mary said.

However, no one was better than Stacey Sheppard, a former UK point guard. Mary Bell said she had a basketball the whole time and was either dribbling, bouncing the ball off her shoulder or spinning it on her finger constantly.

“At one point she was down on her knees trying to teach Myles how to dribble,” Mary said. “Reed was doing his thing with the camp but he came over a few times during the camp, too.”

Part of the camp proceeds were earmarked for charity already but after the devastating flooding in eastern Kentucky Wednesday night, the charitable proceeds will now go to help those victims.

“That’s close to home for them in London and they just felt that was the right thing to do,” Mary Bell said.