Reed Sheppard and Derek Willis were back in Lexington getting up shots at the Joe Craft Center

A couple of homegrown former Wildcats were back in Lexington this week.

Reed Sheppard and Derek Willis were spotted getting up shots in the Kentucky men’s basketball practice gym on Wednesday. Derek’s wife, Keely, posted a video to her Instagram story of the two Bluegrass natives as they continue through offseason workouts. Although the real star of the show is the Willis family’s young son, next in line to suit up for head coach Mark Pope as a second-generation UK hooper.

Sheppard (a 2023 graduate of North Laurel) and Willis (a 2013 graduate of Bullitt East) are separated by nearly a decade in age, but there’s nothing we love to see more than different eras of Kentucky basketball getting along together.

Look who is back in Lexington! Derek Willis and Reed Sheppard are getting some shots up at the Joe Craft Center.

It is always great to see former players come back to Lexington 💙! #BBN pic.twitter.com/6IeuqbgsOZ

— Chris Beasmore (@CBeasmoreSports) July 31, 2025

Sheppard has been staying busy this offseason as he’s about to enter year two in the NBA. After the Houston Rockets selected him third overall last June, expectations have risen after a rocky rookie campaign. Now with Kevin Durant as a teammate, Houston is planning on Sheppard being a major piece of both the immediate and long-term future. This is a franchise looking to make the NBA Finals sooner rather than later — how much Sheppard improves from year one to year two could be a determining factor in making that happen.

He’s on the right track, though. Sheppard looked too good for Summer League action earlier this month. The Rockets even pulled him from the event after just two games played. He averaged 23 points per outing against that level of competition. Now he’ll be expected to bring similar flair to the NBA in 2025-26.

As for Willis, he’s now eight years removed from his senior season at Kentucky in 2016-17, which saw him average seven points and 5.4 rebounds per contest. Following a brief stint in the NBA’s G League, the 6-foot-9 forward has since made stops all over the world to play hoops. Earlier this month, he signed a deal with Paris Basketball of the LBN Pro A on a two-year deal.

But before heading back over to Europe, Willis made sure to get some practice shots up with Sheppard at their alma mater.