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They might not be starters at Kentucky but Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham not only are two of the best players on the team but two of the best in the country.
Southeastern Conference coaches certainly appreciated what the two players did this season when Sheppard was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and his freshman teammate Dillingham was named the SEC Sixth Man of the Year — and honor current UK leading scorer Antonio Reeves won last season.
This season Reeves was voted All-SEC First Team while Sheppard and Dillingham were second-team picks who could have easily been on the first team. Sheppard, Dillingham and D.J. Wagner were named on the All-SEC Freshman Team.
Sheppard is the 10th SEC Freshman of the Year for UK coach John Calipari but the first since Keldon Johnson in 2019. He is averaging 12.7 points per game and has scored in double figures in 20 games.
He is the only player in the country that has at least 75 steals, 140 assists and 70 3-pointers through March 9. Per KenPom.com, his 3-point percentage of 52.6 leads the country, his true-shooting percentage (70.4) is fourth and his effective field-goal percentage (68.2) ranks seventh.
Sheppard has been consistent but he’s almost been spectacular in some SEC games recently. He had a career-high 32 points at Mississippi State when he hit the game-winning shot in the final seconds and also had seven assists, five rebounds, two blocks and one steal. He had 11 of his points in the final 93 seconds.
It was the only game of 30-or-more points, seven-plus assists, five-plus rebounds, two-plus blocks and two-plus steals in the NCAA this season and one of only 11 such games going back to 1996-97.
He might have been even better Saturday when he had 27 points, six rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal in a win at No. 4 Tennessee. He went 7-for-10 from 3-point range and became the first UK player ever to have three games with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in a single season.
Sheppard’s 78 steals trail only Rajon Rondo (87) and Wayne Turner (79) on UK’s single-season steals list. He is the first UK player ever to have five steals in three straight games.
If that’s not enough, he also leads Kentucky with 140 assists, an average of 4.5 per game that ranks third in the SEC.
Dillingham has been a dynamic scorer at times and is the fifth Calipari player to be named SEC Sixth Man of the Year. He is averaging 15 points per game, second on the team. He’s also scoring more than any true freshman in the country who does not start and is 11th overall in bench scoring.
He had a career-high 35 points in a February loss to Tennessee and became only the third player to score 35 or more against coach Rick Barnes in his Tennessee tenure.
Dillingham has been big in the second half often as he averages 8.3 points per game in the second half while shooting almost 50 percent from the field and 80 percent at the foul line.
He has been in double figures 25 times and in seven games against ranked teams has averaged 17.1 points and 3.9 assists per game.
8 Responses
Dilly has been so much fun to watch and it was so nice to see a Kentucky guy play well.
Dillingham and Sheppard would have started on any other team in America, but not on John Calipari’s team of pets.
Barry our players are not pets. Get off the high horse mouth of yours. Geeze!!
Amen Cats79. What a ridiculous and blatantly false statement by a fraud of a fan.. Reed and Dilly coming off the bench is working great. Both players love and relish their role coming off the bench. 99.99999999999% of the fan base knows that who starts is completely irrelevant. They are getting their minutes and are in the game when it matters.They are both projected lottery picks and and Cals rotations have proven to work as we enter post season ranked #9. The fraud fans are only happy if we never lose a game and are ranked #1 all year and win a ship every other year. Go Cats!!!
I have enjoyed watching their growth, along with Justin, DJ, Bradshaw, Big Z, and Unyenso. Reeves has been fantastic all year. Hope Mitchell heals up as it’s tournament time.
Not sure of what to think about Mitchell’s injury. He has been a liability last couple of games. I think this might qualify as another mysterious injury under Cali-Fraudi. It seems like we have at least one a year like this. We do need him to make a serious run though.
Mike, Mitchell injury is not a mystery one as you think. He parents to him stop playing too get heal and Cal agree with it. Get the facts before blowing smoke.
Another good article Larry. When I saw the headline, I thought that I would add my 2 cents to their performance. Your summary was perfect.
I have enjoyed watching Dillingham this year. He seems to really enjoy the game. His personality is infectious. Is that actually a smile on his face?
A lot of people say that Reed should shoot more. I agree however, the most important move is to have him touch the ball more. Play 35 plus minutes per game. Let him make the decision with the ball. He is the quarterback.