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NIL and reed

Depends on his goals. Does he want to be a UK legend or chase the NBA. He could do both. We haven’t had a legacy or home grown recruit like this so there’s no precedent. I hope he stays 2-3 years. There are a lot of successful NBA players who stayed in college for multiple years. I tend to think his skill set & size favor a career like a
 
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It seems to me that reed Shepard is the epitome of guys who would benefit more financially by staying in college for three years than going pro. The nil for this guy will be open season. Never has UK had a player like him that is legacy of both parents who were stats. Reed can be a true Kentucky star. The kind of guy to lead the program and be a hero in the bluegrass. With the open season nil he should command millions easy in Kentucky. This seems to be the type of player to benefit most from nil.

If we have reed 3 years we will win a title in convinced. Cal was trying to sub in his victory cigars and reed knowing there was no stoppage or timeout being called committed a foul to get his teammates in the game. I’ll be honest if someone came and said “we have reed for 3 years if you chip in 500$ hell maybe even a 1000$” I would do it. This guy understands Kentucky basketball better than anyone on the court or benches. Maybe more than any of us. It’s been engrained in him to the point he is so aware of making everyone around him great. What a helluva kid so happy we have him. He could revitalize UK basketball. He has the aptitude to take us to a title in-spite of coaching. Hell cal may even learn a thing or two from him. He’s the type of guy to have profound impact on his team like no other. He ll never be an nba all star but three years in Lexington and he will be perhaps the most iconic player ever at Kentucky.
I think he wants to break his Dad's total of two NC's while at UK. Just chasing money in the NBA will be there but he may want to enjoy college life and make plenty of money with NIL. His Dad could invest it for him as well. After 4 years, he would be a lottery pick and lifelong legend in UKBB lore. This is all me just wishin n' hopin ... fingers crossed.
 
I think it's way more likely we get Reed back than the other top freshmen, so it's at least plausible. A lot of factors that make it more likely.

Still not expecting it though.
 
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Lillard and VanVleet both played 4 years of college. Curry played 3. Some how, some way it has worked out for those guys.

If I were Reed, I would enjoy my time at UK while earning millions. I would stick around and be an All American and national champion.

I would arrive in the NBA ready to contribute immediately and wouldn’t worry too much about draft position.

Falling later in the draft to a better team wouldn’t be the end of the world, if it turned out that way. Especially for the kind of player that part of his magic is making great players look even better when he plays beside them.
There is a drastic difference between Lillard, VanVleet, Curry and Reed. None of those three were highly ranked out of high school, all going to mid-majors, and none of those three were projected first rounders (or NBA picks at all) after their freshman year. If those guys had the option to be a mid first round to lottery pick after their first year, they would have had a completely different decision to make.

Guys in college improve and get drafted after their junior or senior season ….but most (if not all) of those guys didn’t come into college as a big time recruit and have good draft prospects after their first year.
 
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I think he wants to break his Dad's total of two NC's while at UK. Just chasing money in the NBA will be there but he may want to enjoy college life and make plenty of money with NIL. His Dad could invest it for him as well. After 4 years, he would be a lottery pick and lifelong legend in UKBB lore. This is all me just wishin n' hopin ... fingers crossed.
Exactly he can become a legend in Kentucky. If he plays one season here I don’t see that happening. He plays 3 and he will be probably the most loved player of all time. When you’re destined to be a multi millionaire other things become priority. Reed knows the stakes with UK bb and with NIL he can get a head start in becoming a multi millionaire while playing at UK. I mean his NIL value will be 4-5 million maybe more
 
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Going to class + basketball + getting paid = college

basketball + gettting paid + dream job = NBA

That would be a no brainer.
Pretty narrow minded take. Most people who went off to college say those were the best days of their life. Being an icon on UK campus makes that a dream job for a guy like reed. You guys think everything is about money. NIL has changed that now and those who benefit the most are guys like reed who are born and bred into the culture of the program/university.
 
Projected top 5 now
Uh no. Not happening. I saw where he was 6 in one mock but doesn’t exist or pushes second round in others. Wagner at 32? You think Bradshaw, Wagner, dillingham, edwards go after reed? Not happening. Reed was fast out the gate because of his connections to the culture of the program. By the end of the year these guys will surpass him as a draft prospect I promise you.
 
There is a drastic difference between Lillard, VanVleet, Curry and Reed. None of those three were highly ranked out of high school, all going to mid-majors, and none of those three were projected first rounders (or NBA picks at all) after their freshman year. If those guys had the option to be a mid first round to lottery pick after their first year, they would have had a completely different decision to make.

Guys in college improve and get drafted after their junior or senior season ….but most (if not all) of those guys didn’t come into college as a big time recruit and have good draft prospects after their first year.
You don’t know what Reed’s draft prospects will be at the end of this season. Even if you think you know, no one really does until the draft happens.

On the flip side, Reed is definitely more like those guys I mentioned as a prospect than a guy like, say, Ja Morant.

Another huge difference is that none of those guys had the ability to earn millions of dollars in NIL while in college. It’s silly to act like the calculus hasn’t changed, no matter how hard Cal has pushed everyone out the door for two decades.

Reed is not your typical NBA prospect and will be picked apart like crazy. I’d love to believe he can be a lottery pick at the end of this season, but I think the hope may be getting a bit ahead of itself, even as talented as he is.

And that’s coming from someone who has been all in on Reed’s talent for years. I believe he can be an All American in college and eventually an NBA all star.

But it still takes guts to draft a guy like Reed in the lottery, especially when you don’t think he’s physically ready to compete in the NBA.

I don’t believe he’ll be physically ready by next year. I think he can stay at Kentucky, make 7 figures, be an All American, and leave when he’s ready.

He’ll still get drafted when he’s ready because he will still be a player. Just a player who is better prepared for an NBA career.
 
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You don’t know what Reed’s draft prospects will be at the end of this season. Even if you think you know, no one really does until the draft happens.

On the flip side, Reed is definitely more like those guys I mentioned as a prospect than a guy like, say, Ja Morant.

Another huge difference is that none of those guys had the ability to earn millions of dollars in NIL while in college. It’s silly to act like the calculus hasn’t changed, no matter how hard Cal has pushed everyone out the door for two decades.

Reed is not your typical NBA prospect and will be picked apart like crazy. I’d love to believe he can be a lottery pick at the end of this season, but I think the hope may be getting a bit ahead of itself, even as talented as he is.

And that’s coming from someone who has been all in on Reed’s talent for years. I believe he can be an All American in college and eventually an NBA all star.

But it still takes guts to draft a guy like Reed in the lottery, especially when you don’t think he’s physically ready to compete in the NBA.

I don’t believe he’ll be physically ready by next year. I think he can stay at Kentucky, make 7 figures, be an All American, and leave when he’s ready.

He’ll still get drafted when he’s ready because he will still be a player. Just a player who is better prepared for an NBA career.
I agree that we have no idea about Reed’s draft stock at the end of the season.

My takes in this thread are based on the premise that if Reed is slated to be picked at a part of the draft that he feels is worth leaving for after this or next year, I don’t see him staying for NIL. That’s all I am saying.

If he’s a fringe first round pick, I feel he should come back. Guys have done that before.

I also feel the comparisons of guys coming from Davidson, Weber State and Wichita State are just bad examples.

IMO, Reed isn’t in a rush to leave like a lot of guys that come here, but if he’s projected in an area of the draft that he feels is beneficial to him to live his dream of playing in the NBA, NIL deals are not going to keep him here.
 
I agree that we have no idea about Reed’s draft stock at the end of the season.

My takes in this thread are based on the premise that if Reed is slated to be picked at a part of the draft that he feels is worth leaving for after this or next year, I don’t see him staying for NIL. That’s all I am saying.

If he’s a fringe first round pick, I feel he should come back. Guys have done that before.

I also feel the comparisons of guys coming from Davidson, Weber State and Wichita State are just bad examples.

IMO, Reed isn’t in a rush to leave like a lot of guys that come here, but if he’s projected in an area of the draft that he feels is beneficial to him to live his dream of playing in the NBA, NIL deals are not going to keep him here.
The problem is there is no apples to apples comp on reed in the NIL era. He’s the prototype of a college athlete who stands to maximize his NIL potential. This does change the calculus in everyway because I don’t think a few million difference upfront is gonna lure him to the nba. He’s the kind of guy who can make it up over time. We don’t know maybe he banks on being nba ready day 1 he hits the league instead of treading water to that second contract. Logic says if you hit the ground running day 1 in the nba then the chances of hitting that max deal or a big contract after 4 years is exponentially higher. If he went this season I could see reed bouncing around for a few years between the nba and gleague. TyTy is a great example of that. You go to soon then that second contract is gonna be potentially much less. Make money in college. Max out the potential. Become a top 10 pick. Get paid MORE than be ready to hit the ground running. I don’t know if he ll do any of this but he has that opportunity now where as in the past yeah maybe he had to go because no money in college. I think people regurgitating the old cal logic of leaving right away for the $$$$ are just cal fans and don’t understand the many options and opportunity to maximize earnings by staying. If bbn can’t pony up half of what bronny makes at usc for reed then we no longer have a program.
 
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As long as you don’t figure in:

15,000 girls on campus, a third of them hot, conservatively over 30,000 more of that kind near your age in Lexington at large, all the single ones want you, most of the taken ones do too = college

A smaller number of hot girls among fans and groupies of your team, most of them only after the max-contract stars, a few of them will know you exist, some of those may even be into a relatively short white kid = NBA

For those with more traditional priorities it’s a different kind of no-brainer.
He needs to do what his dad did: Get together with a female athlete (either basketball or volleyball, tall genes either way) and get married, so there can be another generation of Sheppard basketball player.
 
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The problem is there is no apples to apples comp on reed in the NIL era. He’s the prototype of a college athlete who stands to maximize his NIL potential. This does change the calculus in everyway because I don’t think a few million difference upfront is gonna lure him to the nba. He’s the kind of guy who can make it up over time. We don’t know maybe he banks on being nba ready day 1 he hits the league instead of treading water to that second contract. Logic says if you hit the ground running day 1 in the nba then the chances of hitting that max deal or a big contract after 4 years is exponentially higher. If he went this season I could see reed bouncing around for a few years between the nba and gleague. TyTy is a great example of that. You go to soon then that second contract is gonna be potentially much less. Make money in college. Max out the potential. Become a top 10 pick. Get paid MORE than be ready to hit the ground running. I don’t know if he ll do any of this but he has that opportunity now where as in the past yeah maybe he had to go because no money in college. I think people regurgitating the old cal logic of leaving right away for the $$$$ are just cal fans and don’t understand the many options and opportunity to maximize earnings by staying. If bbn can’t pony up half of what bronny makes at usc for reed then we no longer have a program.
I understand all of that. And I know we are all guessing on what his goal is. My feeling is that the money thing is going to be there whether it's in the NBA or NIL. I do not think his reason for staying here would be NIL related. It will be if he and his family think he is ready for the next step. If he thinks that is after his freshman year, I think he goes. If he feels that it would benefit him in terms of his pro prospects to come back, he will come back. I just don't think NIL, in Reed's situation, will play as big as a role as others do.
 
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I agree that we have no idea about Reed’s draft stock at the end of the season.

My takes in this thread are based on the premise that if Reed is slated to be picked at a part of the draft that he feels is worth leaving for after this or next year, I don’t see him staying for NIL. That’s all I am saying.

If he’s a fringe first round pick, I feel he should come back. Guys have done that before.

I also feel the comparisons of guys coming from Davidson, Weber State and Wichita State are just bad examples.

IMO, Reed isn’t in a rush to leave like a lot of guys that come here, but if he’s projected in an area of the draft that he feels is beneficial to him to live his dream of playing in the NBA, NIL deals are not going to keep him here.
I was comparing other 6 foot ish guards who have become wildly successful in the NBA and made lots of money, despite staying in college for 3-4 years.

Implication being that might work for Reed too.
 
It seems to me that reed Shepard is the epitome of guys who would benefit more financially by staying in college for three years than going pro. The nil for this guy will be open season. Never has UK had a player like him that is legacy of both parents who were stats. Reed can be a true Kentucky star. The kind of guy to lead the program and be a hero in the bluegrass. With the open season nil he should command millions easy in Kentucky. This seems to be the type of player to benefit most from nil.

If we have reed 3 years we will win a title in convinced. Cal was trying to sub in his victory cigars and reed knowing there was no stoppage or timeout being called committed a foul to get his teammates in the game. I’ll be honest if someone came and said “we have reed for 3 years if you chip in 500$ hell maybe even a 1000$” I would do it. This guy understands Kentucky basketball better than anyone on the court or benches. Maybe more than any of us. It’s been engrained in him to the point he is so aware of making everyone around him great. What a helluva kid so happy we have him. He could revitalize UK basketball. He has the aptitude to take us to a title in-spite of coaching. Hell cal may even learn a thing or two from him. He’s the type of guy to have profound impact on his team like no other. He ll never be an nba all star but three years in Lexington and he will be perhaps the most iconic player ever at Kentucky.
I've got Reed's future planned out. Play at least 3 years at UK (bank millions), go to NBA for a few years and bank all the millions then come back to Kentucky and run for Governor and after that Senator, then President. Can somebody please let Jeff and Stacey (and Reed too, for that matter!) know so they can take it easy and just enjoy the ride? Thanks.
 
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I've got Reed's future planned out. Play at least 3 years at UK (bank millions), go to NBA for a few years and bank all the millions then come back to Kentucky and run for Governor and after that Senator, then President. Can somebody please let Jeff and Stacey (and Reed too, for that matter!) know so they can take it easy and just enjoy the ride? Thanks.
You got it! As long as he doesn’t turn out to be a Marxist. 🤣 😂 Jk Jk settle down lefties
 
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Pretty narrow minded take. Most people who went off to college say those were the best days of their life. Being an icon on UK campus makes that a dream job for a guy like reed. You guys think everything is about money. NIL has changed that now and those who benefit the most are guys like reed who are born and bred into the culture of the program/university.
Exactly.
 
It’s pretty simple. If he’s a 1st round pick he’s gone, if he’s borderline with no guarantee or likely 2nd he’ll stay.
 
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