The Big Blue Nation can’t get enough of Reed Sheppard, but will they only have him for one season?
Between Sheppard’s incredible season, which could earn him National Freshman of the Year honors, and what looks like an incredibly weak 2024 NBA Draft class, it’s almost certain he’d be a lottery pick if he goes pro this year, potentially going in the top 10.
Too much to pass up, right?
In the immortal words of Lee Corso, not so fast, my friend.
In an interview with Kyle Tucker of The Athletic, Scott Padgett, now an assistant coach at Mississippi State, gave an eyebrow-raising quote on Sheppard’s potential to be a one-and-done player for Kentucky Basketball.
“I’m not saying he’ll stay four years, but I would still be shocked if his career lasted one,” said Padgett. “If there are weaknesses they think he can work on and improve in a year, I could see him staying another year. They’re going to look at this differently than most, for one because the NIL is probably crazy, but also because education is huge to them and he’d be another year closer to a degree, where he could then come back and finish it in the summers. And, to be honest with you, there’s an unknown factor.
“They are such a close, close, close family, and Reed has lived his whole life in London and Lexington, so I don’t know that there’s a real rush to get out of there unless you’re 100 percent ready. Plus, if he comes back, he’s a rock star. He’s Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. In that state, he would be that.”
Padgett may be an assistant for the Bulldogs now, but you have to think he’s got as good of a pulse on the situation as anyone who’s not Reed Sheppard or his immediate family.
After all, Padgett and Jeff Sheppard were part of one of the greatest runs in college basketball history while at Kentucky, advancing to three straight national championships from 1996-98, winning two of them.
