Damn dude, you’re taking this way too serious. It’s a friendly discussion. Back it down a couple of notches and relax.
Givony on Sheppard
- Thread starter Smashcat
- Start date
And Brailey, don't forget that she is in the equation of Reed's future decision making
Wonder how many other teams have a lottery pick playing behind players that aren’t?
Any NIL money he can make playing for Kentucky, he can make more in endorsements going pro. No reason to stay if you get a guaranteed NBA contract. I'm a UK fan too, but to encourage kids to play in college when they can get paid to play is selfish, and the kids don't think like fans do. I know he is a UK guy, but his dad didn't get enough nba money to live rich the rest of his life. Reed can.
What an awfully shallow perspective on the situation at hand. I would say not only do you not know the Sheppards but also know very little about them.
Sheppard grew up idolizing UK. His father is from Georgia, but loved UK basketball so much he still lives here to this day. This will 100% not be a situation based solely on money only and thank god. And no, it’s far from stupid, that’s just your opinion which like I said, is based on an oversimplification and shallow reasoning. There are some very good reasons for someone like Reed to play a minimum of 2 years.
It amazes me how little some people can grasp the reality that Sheppard gains far more by playing 2/3 than jumping to the league immediately. the opportunities to have BOTH dreams turn out incredible is real without jumping to the highest dollar immediately.
How's it selfish? He comes back and he improves his stock even more. A player with his skillset doesn't suddenly "forget" how to play. He's not pretending to be a great player. He is a great player and will remain one.
Some of the counterarguments in this thread make no logical sense.
Not it’s not, his dad will literally tell you, it’s well documented.
Sorry SOS. While I enjoy your takes, I think your wrong on this. If Reed ends up as a borderline lottery pick, his parents will agree he goes pro. As much as they don't need the money, it would be near impossible to shut it down and return for 2 or 3 million in NIL. I hope I'm wrong.
Pops got 2 titles while at UK, if Reed has any competitiveness in him at all he won’t leave until he has 3.
He can get paid a year sooner. Like I said, he is still going to make the endorsement money. The worst thing that could happen is he comes back and gets exposed, or the next draft class is better than this one. Being a professional athlete comes with a small window of opportunity. You make the money while the window is open, because it only stays open so long. The younger you can start drawing a check the better off you are, and hope that you hang on long enough to get that second contract. That is tons easier to do if you start at 19 than at 20,21 or 22.
If he gets a commitment from a lottery team, he absolutely should go. His stock likely never gets higher.
If he's outside the lottery but still first round - I think he comes back.
If he's outside the lottery but still first round - I think he comes back.
This thing still has a lot of moving parts as it's just Jan and a lot of basketball yet to be played.
Reed's stock can fluctuate quite a bit between now and the end of the season.
Look how much Justin's stock has fell in a couple months time.
If we're being totally honest, his pro stock is probably being overvalued as a projected late lottery pick right now but it is a weak draft.
Reed has a lot of "buzz" right now in the CBB world so if he can close strong, he may be able to achieve his peak draft position in '24.
I would be totally shocked if he didn't at least enter and I don't see how he could turn down a lottery grade from NBA people especially considering his measurables are not "freakish"
As far as his NIL opportunities at UK, there was an article recently that said go with half the amount of NIL that is "reported" to be actual amount.
Idk how Cal's collective works in regards to Reed.
Kinda under the impression it's geared way more for recruiting than it is retaining.
It was the smart decision because he had health problems, and ended up getting paid in the league. That is why you leave and take a check as soon as you can.
You people say "he will always be taken care of in Kentucky" then threads ask who is paying into NIL and everyone says "I'd never do that, let the rich boosters do it". You people that think a kid should not go pro as soon as he is guaranteed a contract do not understand money. It is easy for people that make a modest living and cheer for Kentucky basketball to want everyone, including the players, one from the mountains even, to want everything you do. But, this kids entire future is on the line. If he can get paid and never have to have a real job, he, his parents and anyone that advises him are committing malpractice by not advising him to go get paid.
You obviously don't have enough money not to work. That is not an insult. But once you have enough money to not have to work, you realize that you should make decisions based upon money if it means you won't have to work.
First off who the hell are “you people”? Secondly, where did I say he shouldn’t go pro? Since you need the elementary edition, I said he probably isn’t in need of money like some. You gotta axe to grind go for it big boy but if you wanna lash out you might try reading comprehension before you pick someone. If you don’t think he won’t be offered a job/taken care of post college if he didn’t go pro you are just disconnected from reality.
"Got my name painted on my shirt
I ain't no ordinary dude, I don't have to work"
Waylon Jennings.
What exactly is on the line?
Sheppard's not going to regress. He's not a one-dimensional or even two-dimensional player whose draft stock is predicated on being hot at the right time (like Lamb for example).
If he banks $2 million in endorsements next year at UK while simultaneously increasing his draft value, there's nothing strange about that. You seem to think his leg will fall off or something. You seem eager to see him go. Weird stuff coming from a fan, but then again, you've hardly posted since you've been here in 2009, so I can't really assess what type of fan you actually are.
I read earlier in this thread a cool concept of which I hadnt considered, just in case his leg were to 'fall off', Jeff could take out an insurance policy on Reed during his return year(s).
He should leave even if he isn't a lottery pick. Why come back to Kentucky to come off the bench behind Cal's newest recruiting class? The NBA can clearly see the special skill set that Reed brings to the table. He is by far the most mature heady guard that Kentucky has had in a very long time. He rarely ever does dumb stuff on the court. My only complaint with him is that he sometimes defers to lesser shooters when the shot is his to take.
He's not coming off the bench behind Fland.
Reed Sheppard would start at point guard next year and play 33 to 35 minutes per game. He'd be our Tyler Ulis, but better.
The two best freshmen in the country are coming off the bench! What a joke.
The Sheppard family is too smart to fall for any more of Cal's nonsense. He is already the best point guard on the team, so what does he have to prove by coming back?
And quite frankly no one should have a problem with that. If Dajuan didn't go when he did it's very likely he has zero NBA career once his health issues came to light. I have always thought that's the main reason Cal is so players first and tells the guys to strike while the iron is hot. He was very close to seeing a kid get their lottery ticket ripped up and it's colored his opinion of things to this day.
I see you beat me to the history lesson. I'm wondering how many people here don't realize the specifics of Cal's history with Dajuan and aren't aware of it being a huge reason he is so players first.
Yup, I have no issue with it really when they are guys like Wagner or wall, Boogie, etc. but guys who need another year often go too. I’m sure Cal has told a fair share of them to come back but who knows who listened and who didn’t.
He has to push certain players out the door so that he can assure his recruiting targets that they will be starting.
How many of his players has he pushed out the door that never achieved the level of play that they would have if they stayed in college? The league is full of players who stayed in school and they didn't develop some career ending illness or receive some catastrophic injury that ended their careers. If Cal gets it wrong, does he compensate players for his bad advice? He should be advising players based on their ability to play and their maturity levels, not based on the possibility of something bad happening to them.
It doesn't matter what they do or don't achieve in the NBA. That's on the individual player once they get to the league. No one is developing skills by coming back to UK that they can't develop in the NBA when basketball is their full time job. At that point they're surrounded by world class coaches in world class facilities.
Coming back to school either improves your draft stock or it hurts it. It doesn't make you a better player when you're three years into your NBA career. Cal's not teaching Daniel Orton anything he didn't or couldn't have learned in the NBA, and a player like that coming back for a second year does nothing for their long term success. It's only about draft position.
Flaming out in the NBA doesn't mean you should have gone back to school. It just means you weren't good enough or didn't work hard enough while in the NBA to be successful.
For starters, one less prime year of playing in the NBA. And you just never know what sort of injuries can happen over the course of the year.
I think there's a realistic chance that Sheppard comes back for a year, simply because his love of UK, his parents went here, NIL helps, etc.
But from a financial standpoint, if he's lottery he should go. There's just way too much NBA money to be made.
I think there's a realistic chance that Sheppard comes back for a year, simply because his love of UK, his parents went here, NIL helps, etc.
But from a financial standpoint, if he's lottery he should go. There's just way too much NBA money to be made.
It might not matter to you or to Cal what happens once they get to the NBA, but it certainly matters to the players and their families. Cal shouldn't treat his players like the NBA version of a payday system for players to take less than they could earn in order to get it early. If you have the raw talent to become one of the league's best players, you certainly won't be happy at just getting to the league before something bad happens. That is a fatalistic approach to life. You wouldn't tell a non-student athlete to leave college before completing his/her degree because they could get sick before completing college and getting a chance to appreciate life as a working adult. That decision should be left to the players and their families because whatever the outcome, they are the ones who have to live with it and not Cal.
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Heh, I agree with all this.. but I think Daniel Orton is probably one of the guys who should have come back. He really put up next to nothing as a freshman, I'm not even sure how he was able to be drafted 29th. Maybe people thought if it wasn't for Demarcus, he'd be getting those stats?
But I think he could have used another year.. his NBA earnings and career is basically non existent.. all he needed to do was get drafted say 15th, and hed have made more money on that contract alone. Of course, if he sucked, then he doesn't get drafted at all. But I suspect he'd have been a lot better being our main big man in 2010/2011.
I'm sure we've had a number of kids where there was no reasoning with them or their families.
EJ Montgomery is probably a prime example.
I really can't think of a player that Cal pushed out just because he didn't want to coach him anymore like a Pitino/Rhodes situation.
UK is not "One and Done U" just based on quantity.
UK has the most but also has the best and that's not up for debate.
