Nah I think he felt he had to go due to the unique opportunity to be a top 5 NBA pick. Hard to turn down, frankly.
Reed
- Thread starter Wonky
- Start date
He's literally playing n the NBA this season. That'd meaningful basketball. Some of you are delusional.
To me his dad is a Kentucky legend. Reed is just a one and done player that let our imagination get wild just to pursue, like every other one and done : money and NBA.
In my opinion , players Oscar or the Harrison twins, for instance, should be appreciated more than players like Reed because they did more for the university.
In my opinion , players Oscar or the Harrison twins, for instance, should be appreciated more than players like Reed because they did more for the university.
I agree playing in the NBA is meaningful. I meant he may never again be a standout player or the best player on his team or one of the best in his league. I should have made that more clear. I don't blame him for leaving, I would have too. I was just pointing out he had to sacrifice being a huge star at Kentucky to take advantage of the opportunity while available. I am sure that was a hard decision for him.
Hell even if he had to play overseas it still would be meaningful basketball to someone that just loves the game .
Folks set themselves up for Reed staying multiple years just because he’s from Kentucky for some odd reason .
I think we overstate the significance of someone playing high school basketball in Kentucky. That’s the reason. No one is gonna turn down a contract with six zeroes to return to play on a good college team, at least not without some very unique factors.
Rockets are good on D which will help his defensive rating.
Shep had a knack for steals and blocking shots in college. Hopefully it sticks.
Of course they are. The Harrison went to 2 final fours and a title game. It's about results here. Oscar won player of the year and despite an abysmal 1 and 2 ncaa tourney record, he dominated those 3 games. Not his fault we lost.
People elevate players and show favoritism just because they played high school ball n a given state.
I can’t help but feel that if we treat the ones who came from Kentucky a certain way, we can treat the others who chose the blue and white just as good. You don’t treat your adopted kids as less than and that’s what it feels like to me.
Yeah, I don’t care what other people think, give me the money.
TBH I don't think Reed is really sitting there wondering if he made the wrong decision or not.
I don't think he has any regrets going.
Goal and dream is to get drafted and play in the NBA. He achieved that.
Whether he goes onto having a productive NBA career who knows. Tho I'm not sure one additional year at Kentucky would have made a huge difference in that. I tend to think he's either going to shine or not shine regardless.
I don't think he has any regrets going.
Goal and dream is to get drafted and play in the NBA. He achieved that.
Whether he goes onto having a productive NBA career who knows. Tho I'm not sure one additional year at Kentucky would have made a huge difference in that. I tend to think he's either going to shine or not shine regardless.
He was drafted for potential. If they wanted a NBA ready guard they would have gone for someone like Dalton Knecht. Reed and Dillingham's size is a factor too. Knecht fell in the first round because of his age. Reed is still very young and is probably struggling offensively with defensive length and we know his defense lacks from time to time.
I get it a little especially since Reed didn’t view himself as one and done coming into the season .
I do wish he was appreciated more despite the bad game in the first round . Cal really messed up that team with not starting Reed . I actually didn’t mind Rob coming off of the bench because with his style of play you could view him as a spark off of the bench . You can’t have both of your best players coming off of the bench . Don’t think that has ever happened in the history of basketball .
Reed didn’t play good at all in our only game in the tournament. Unfortunately, his legacy can’t rise above guys who did more in my opinion. I’m a massive Jeff Sheppard fan so it wouldn’t have taken much for Reed to be a legend in my eyes but he didn’t do enough to earn it frankly. If we wasn’t from Kentucky, he’d be nothing more than a footnote imo
I can’t be mad at this take .
I just think that season might have went differently if roles were put in place by the coach but instead he worried about hurting feelings .
Matter fact the feelings excuse was trash by Cal because it was reported when DJ came back from injury he suggested to let Reed start .
For us, or for him? If you mean for UK, I’m not saying it would’ve guaranteed us a F4 if he had come back. I’m saying, the experience of it all, and playing for a real coach with a system tailor-made for him, would’ve been something he’d have treasured forever.
Many UK fans live their lives thinking college success is the pinnacle point for an athlete.
Reed, the 3rd pick signed a 2-4 year $45,853,024 contract as a rookie. To put that into perspective, Dalton Knecht, the 17th pick signed a contract $2-4 year, $18,483,219. That's a 40% difference ($27,369,805)
Yes, he will "be rich either way". However, when it comes to that, you have to take off the blue-tinted glasses.
Remember that this was a “weak” draft (only time will tell if that perception was accurate) and his stock was as high as it could possibly be. He could only drop and lose money by coming back imo. He doesn’t have the size and freak athleticism that GMs covet at the top of the lottery.
He was fantastic for the Cats but the NBA is a totally different beast. There’s a lot of things you just can’t get by with at that level. He’s an incredible off ball defender and made some great recovery plays but his man defense was being exploited even at UK. That is a major flaw that he will have to work on to carve out a role in the NBA. He’s going to be hunted until he proves he can hang with the big dogs.
His shot will start falling when he gets comfortable with the speed and length of NBA defenders, I’m confident in that. It’s some of the other aspects of the game that leave his future in doubt. He’s gonna work hard and maximize his talent and he’s still a young guy so there’s hope.
My guess is the Rockets continue on this upward trajectory and eventually package Reed with some other assets and make a trade for a proven vet that can elevate them to contender status. He’s a long term project that may not be a good fit for this particular situation but he could be great on a rebuilding team that has time for their young guys to play through their mistakes.
He was fantastic for the Cats but the NBA is a totally different beast. There’s a lot of things you just can’t get by with at that level. He’s an incredible off ball defender and made some great recovery plays but his man defense was being exploited even at UK. That is a major flaw that he will have to work on to carve out a role in the NBA. He’s going to be hunted until he proves he can hang with the big dogs.
His shot will start falling when he gets comfortable with the speed and length of NBA defenders, I’m confident in that. It’s some of the other aspects of the game that leave his future in doubt. He’s gonna work hard and maximize his talent and he’s still a young guy so there’s hope.
My guess is the Rockets continue on this upward trajectory and eventually package Reed with some other assets and make a trade for a proven vet that can elevate them to contender status. He’s a long term project that may not be a good fit for this particular situation but he could be great on a rebuilding team that has time for their young guys to play through their mistakes.
Problem with Houston is they don’t have the trajectory for long term projects. They are a winning team and it won’t be long before they need to have value on each of its roster spots. I think there are reasons to be optimistic that Sheppard can turn it around — he certainly has the talent, but it is true that being a very talented player doesn’t always translate to being a good NBA player, just like being an excellent musician doesn’t always equate to being the next big star in that industry. Always will support Reed and hope for the best.
He got paid. We all get it. That said, there was PLENTY of life-changing money for him in Lexington, and the NBA was probably still going to draft him lottery / top 10 after a year in Pope's offense. It was a tough situation for the family ... 3rd overall is money we'd all race to get.
Jeff might’ve been better as a fifth year senior, but he certainly was not at the same age, and was never the long term pro prospect that Reed is.
Mainly because of one glaring flaw: he could only play one position. He never developed point guard level dribbling or passing skills, which severely limited his usefulness to the pros.
Reed’s skill set has always been broader and more versatile than his daddy’s ever was.
Nobody in their right mind passes up the opportunity to be the 3rd (or lottery pick) pick. His development would’ve been worse at UK than in the NBA for the NBA. If you’re going to be that pick you go 100% of the time. Because he’s struggling right now isn’t a reason he should’ve stayed at UK. That’s silly.
