Reed Sheppard had a lot of happy times at UK last season. (Vicky Graff Photo)
It was not that long ago that Kentucky freshman guard Travis Perry of Lyon County was playing against Reed Sheppard of North Laurel in high school. Now Sheppard is a top-five pick in the NBA draft this week after being picked third by Houston Wednesday.
“It’s wild. Reed was your dominant high school player and then he came to Kentucky and dominated college basketball as a freshman,” said Perry before the draft. “He’s going to be a lottery pick and that’s just insane to think about. I don’t think you really think something like that is fathomable until it really happens but I am very, very happy for him.”
“He’s worked his whole life for this and that is the ultimate goal and now he’s going to get that accomplishment. It’s just crazy.”
Perry and Sheppard have known each other since they were youngsters but Perry knows the success Sheppard had at UK last season does not guarantee he’ll have the same type of first season.
“I try not to make comparisons. I just try and focus on what I can control,” Perry said. “I know that the opportunities will be different. I want to try and make the most of my freshman year and win as many games as possible.”
Sheppard became one of the nation’s most prolific 3-point shooters last season and continued to impress NBA personnel with his pre-draft workouts.
“I always knew he was a good shooter but whenever you have that much attention on you every game in high school, it’s hard to really get that percentage up and I think when he finally got to the next level and had so much spacing on the floor, it helped him,” Perry, Kentucky’s all-time leading high school scorer, said. “He had so many good guys around him he was really able to showcase his ability to shoot the ball.”
Perry’s father, Ryan, is the head coach of Lyon, which won its first state championship last season. While Ryan Perry didn’t project that Sheppard would be a top 10 draft pick or higher after his freshman season at UK, he did expect the former North Laurel star to be a major contributor immediately — and he was.
“I told Travis and anybody that listened to me ever since Reed committed to Kentucky way back when that he was going to be fine. There were the doubters but I was very strong on the kid is gonna play. He’s gonna be on the court,” the Lyon coach said. “He makes everybody around him better.
“He’s just an outstanding basketball player. He’s a really good one. I saw that coming and called that but I didn’t see it coming to where Reed would have the season he did. I was just blown away with the stuff he was doing and the percentages in his shooting.”
Ryan Perry said Sheppard’s decision-making helped make every player better when he was on the floor and he never forced bad plays or shots.
“I would not say he could not replicate that season again but it really was just amazing and that’s why he is going so high in the draft,” Ryan Perry said. “The thing is that all this could not happen to a better kid. We love the Sheppard family and we love Reed. He deserves everything that he’s got and is going to get. They are just good people.”
Ryan Perry knows many will want to compare his son to Sheppard next season. The coach doesn’t think that will bother his son.
“Travis is very confident in his game, and what he does and brings to the table and the value he has. So I don’t I don’t think that he’s gonna go in trying to be like Reed,” Ryan Perry said. “He is gonna go in and he’s gonna want to work really, really hard. I think he expects that in every situation he’s been in.
“He’s worked hard enough to be able to affect winning where he was at and I think he expects to do the same thing at Kentucky. He knows the lottery picks that are at Kentucky. You gotta work hard. Nothing’s gonna be given. Travis wanted that. He felt like he was gonna show his worth and be hard to keep off the court.
“I don’t think he’s going in thinking I want to be like Reed but it would be amazing to have a season like that. He always wants to produce but what Reed did as a freshman truly was amazing and it’s going to be just as amazing to see him drafted so high.”
One Response
Peas and carrots. The situation is totally different this year. Reed played with kids his age. Perry is practicing against grown men. As crazy as it sounds I think Perry is more of a scorer than Reed, but I think Reed is a better all around player than Perry. I see Perry being here for 2-3 maybe even 4 years. Its apples and oranges but let’s see how Reed does in the NBA. The draft was down very bad this year. It really was a perfect time to get paid. I wanted to see Reed and Perry play together., but they are 2 completely different players. If we had 9 freshman like Calapari teams I think Perry would play a ton of minutes. With Pope bringing in 5th year seniors and mostly upperclassmen he will learn so much from practicing against these guys. I think he really takes off in year 2 and plays his way into the NBA after year 3. I just want Kentucky boys to lead us to a national championship. 🏆