Reed Sheppard's Legacy at Kentucky -- I hate to disagree..

[NoDef]

Jeff = Legend. Championship / redshirt for others to play / Championship
Stacy = Almost legend. She was awesome but the did not win enough.

Reed = One of the better Freshman to play at UK. Played for a coach that did not allow him to try and reach legendary status. Reed = what could have been.

He made the correct business decision. I can't blame the kid, the only thing his stock could do is trend downward..

Reed was a good up and coming star for UK but choked bigly in the 1st round of the ncaa tournament. Only legacy he had was being a legends son that could have been a star and legend himself at UK. That being said, can't ever blame a guy for going pro, not for 1 second. You can get hurt any time, strike while the iron is hot.

The combine probably solidified him as a top 5 pick. I'm happy as heck for the kid. He will be able to feed generations of his family from here on out. He will make a lifetime of most people's earnings in only a couple of years.

 

[Jeff Hoyt]

Reed choked when it mattered the most . I’ll remember him that way .

You are one sick person.

 

[chevyman 50]

For someone who was a freshman and did not start and played high BB in Ky he is pretty close to a legend

 

[HagginHall1999]

There have been quite a few posts calling him a legend and they get mad if you say he isn't. Truth is, he did have a really good Freshman year, but he's no different from all the other one and done players that have poured through Kentucky over the past years under Cal. We all know who is parents are, and most of us have a ton of respect for them. Because of who they are, we had hoped that Reed had that same love for Kentucky that his parents have and that he would come back for his sophomore year to help rebuild. Instead, he chose to become another Cal one and done and head to the NBA and showed that Kentucky didn't really mean much to him at all; so he's no different from the others.

I would have loved for him to come back but 100% understand why anyone who is a top 5-10 pick in draft would not.

I don't blame that on Cal. The one's that irritated me with Cal were guys like Gabriel, Dakari and Diallo (examples), etc ...not lottery picks should have come back, but left anyway.

I don't know that Cal coached a UK legend other than AD....or maybe I don't understand what a legend is...lol.

 

[Mike-McD]

Seriously, how can you be a legend if when you left the program it was in worse shape than when you got there 🤣 💩

Don't blame Reed for Cal's mistakes.

 

[ukfan03]

Hey. Almost 50-year fan here. Read my earlier post and they are all positive. I loved Reed and appreciated his play. I really do. However, for those saying that Reed is a Kentucky legend, I am not sure I can agree. We will remember him, but he will not go down as a legend. No championship, no final four, no SEC championship, and one just good year. That is not a legend. Another year would have made the difference but no legend status here for a couple great games. Thoughts?

I agree with everything you said. Love the kid and wish him nothing but the best, but his dad is a legend. He was just another one and done at the end of the day. If his dad wasn’t Jeff Shepherd, he would be another Tyler Herro, Devin Booker, etc. Not saying anything is wrong with that. Just not legend status.

 

[chroix]

Plenty of legends that are legendary for the "what could've been" scenarios. Kid was great. I'll probably remember him most for being one of a handful of players that I selfishly hated to see leave early. Anybody blaming last season's failures on Reed should log off and hang it up.

 

[TCurtis75]

This kid is a legend. it does partially include his incredible season that was completely unexpected by everyone. It also includes what he did in HS as well. He turned down opportunities to play at prep schools like Oak Hill and Monteverde Academy to play all four years in London KY. He won National Freshman of the year and more than likely will be a top 5 pick in the draft. Very few KY kids can claim those things. Leaving after one year at UK does nothing to take away from his legend status. He has earned it.

 

[Mr. Stratford]

Reed will always be remembered fondly, but most will just consider him another one and done player that didn't accomplish much for UK during his tenure. He has left the door wide open for Perry or Noah to surpass him in KY/UK legendary status.

However, he made the right financial decision. I will never fault him for that.

 

[bluegoad72]

For the state of Kentucky yes. His high school career and before was the stuff of legends. Throw in what he did in one year and UK and that only boosts that resume.
However, not if we are talking college. He had a great season coming off the bench(which we all know was stupid). But one good season doesn't make you a legend. Plenty of college guys have those every year and they are NOT legends. You need either the greatest season of all time or several seasons of what he did last year, or something extra like helping the team to some form of championship. Great player, Kentucky legend for sure, but not a college legend.

 

[Big blue 35]

He's a one game wonder!

 

[Ron Mehico]

His legacy was the true culmination of the Calipari regime. A born and bred Kentucky boy with a championship father who cared so little about his Kentucky postseason success that he left to go to the NBA as soon as he could. Not one single postseason game won.

 

[moses1uk]

His legacy was the true culmination of the Calipari regime. A born and bred Kentucky boy with a championship father who cared so little about his Kentucky postseason success that he left to go to the NBA as soon as he could. Not one single postseason game won.

Worst player on the court vs Oakland

 

[NoDef]

I don't blame any player with an almost guaranteed chance of going in the lottery leaving. The biggest problem I had with Cal is that he lost too many players without an NBA future try and jump into the league. Most other teams didn't lose those types of kids and they became solid three and four year players.

I think Cal will be pretty good at Arkansas with all this new NIL stuff. He will still recruit at a high level and if he and his staff can figure out how to fill the holes through NIL upperclassmen, then his young teams won't be so young anymore. He couldn't find a solid player at the five spot this year. All his bigs where toothpicks with zero back to the basket skills. Sometimes you have to go through the post and get one if needed.

 

[Wildcats1st]

Reed Sheppard could have been an all time great with his jersey in the rafters but he chose that. Fast money instead.

 

[fredmanthecatfan]

Reed seems to be a fine young man and one of the best players on a really talented team that woefully underachieved as a team.
I think he will do well in the NBA.
I wish he would have stayed another year, but can’t blame him for making a decision that he believes is best for him.
I don’t think he is a legend other than a legend of what could have been.
I do think he is a Kentucky kid who is doing something that only a tiny percentage of people get the chance to do. I wish him all of the best.
Truth is that I genuinely like every kid on last seasons roster. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but I feel like just about anyone else could have done a better job coaching them. It’s kind of a shame, but turn the page.

 

[Bluegrassking]

The fate of his UK legacy will be little different than Rob's.

Anything else is essentially an effort to rationalize and disguise tribalism.

 

[MidseasonTweak]

For someone who was a freshman and did not start and played high BB in Ky he is pretty close to a legend

He was not a part of a team that won a single tourney game. I love Reed, but he is not a legend at UK. He could have been possibly had he stayed, but there's no way he could have come back given his draft position.

 

[Bluesbrother]

He did the right thing for himself. No ill will as almost all of us would have done the same. But no, not even close to a legend - who said he was? Seems like just trying to put him down for no reason.

Our anger should be directed at Calipari for losing a game to freaking Oakland when we had two top 10 picks.

Calipari was a turd in UK's punchbowl. He always believed he was bigger than UK. That is a sickness and UK paid a heavy price for enabling that sickness. I hope Reed has great success in the League, but I believe he was on a path of greatness at UK. Cal teaches the players that it's always and forever "about the money". Some players aren't mature enough, at such a young age, to handle instant wealth. Terrance Clarke comes to mind.

 

[House miner]

Same here. When they leave here, they're dead to me.

Players being dead to you when they leave here is wild. I will always support and wish for success for all of our players while here and after they leave. It’s sad that you have no loyalty to our players.

 

[moses1uk]

Glad Reed confirmed at the combine he liked UK but his true love was for Cal

 

[NociHTTP]

Right because it’s not possible to love both. You can’t love your coach and your school. LOL at message board weirdos who don’t know how personal relationships work because you have none.

 

[The_Answer1313]

Players being dead to you when they leave here is wild. I will always support and wish for success for all of our players while here and after they leave. It’s sad that you have no loyalty to our players.

I think some feel this way because they feel a player leaving after 1 year shows no loyalty

I don’t really agree with that at all but it might be the reason why some feel that way.

I don’t follow NBA but I’m always happy when I hear previous players have big games and whatnot.

 

[NociHTTP]

Players being dead to you when they leave here is wild. I will always support and wish for success for all of our players while here and after they leave. It’s sad that you have no loyalty to our players.

It's sad to YOU that I have no loyalty to our players, but I'm a UK fan, not a Forever Player Fan. While they're here I'll support them, and if they truly accomplish something for the program or even choose to come back to work on their game, thus giving us needed experience, than that goes a long way for me. La Familia isn't my cup of tea, I'm not at all an NBA or Calipari fan. With Pope's system, we're very likely to see kids buying into their experience at UK and then I'll reciprocate and maybe even cheer them on elsewhere. It's sad that you can't understand that.

 

[NociHTTP]

Glad Reed confirmed at the combine he liked UK but his true love was for Cal

Unfortunately that makes me wonder, had he decided to not go in the draft, would he have come back to UK or followed Cal? :/

 

[Tf2217]

No one year player who didn't accomplish anything is a Kentucky legend in my eyes.

Daddy Shep is a UK legend. little Shep had a very good single season for UK but hardly a UK legend.
Out of all the call players
Wall,Davis, and Aaron Harrison are the only "legends" one is the turn of the resurgence, one is a unicorn ncca champion, and the other had one of the best NCAA kemba walker type tourney runs in history the rest had very good seasons no doubt but far from legend material. Monk or Fox could've probably ended up here if UNC didn't happen because I think that team was going to win it all/would've at least had a final 4.