Reed Sheppard drops near triple-double in front of John Calipari at Hoophall Classic
For the first time since early December, North Laurel is finally healthy. While it didn’t result in a win on Sunday afternoon at the 2023 Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., the Jaguars finally got a taste of what it’s like to play with a full roster. Outside of the program’s first three games this season, injuries have plagued North Laurel.
Luckily for Kentucky fans, class of 2023 signee Reed Sheppard didn’t get bit by the injury bug like several of his teammates did to begin the ’22-23 schedule. Heading into this weekend, the future Wildcat had been averaging 24.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per outing while shooting nearly 46 percent from the floor across 16 games played.
On Sunday, Sheppard led his North Laurel squad into Springfield College for a matchup against Maryland-based Mount Saint Joseph. Playing in front of his soon-to-be head coach John Calipari, along with assistants Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman, the four-star guard did his best to put on a show. Sheppard was named the MVP of his team in a 54-48 loss that came down to the closing minutes.
“That’s super awesome,” Sheppard said postgame about the UK coaches coming to watch him play. “It’s not every day after a game you get to go talk to the Kentucky coaches, so it’s really really special to me that they came all the way out here to watch and it’s something that you look forward to as a player, playing in front of top coaches and they’re definitely some of the top coaches in the nation. So being able to have them over there meant a lot.
“They just said way to fight and keep playing and they look forward to seeing me again and keeping in touch.”
Playing all 32 possible minutes for the Jaguars, Sheppard nearly dropped a triple-double in what was North Laurel’s final out-of-state matchup this season. The 6-foot-3 playmaker went for 13 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks, and two steals. Despite a poor shooting performance of just 5-21 (including a 3-14 mark from three-point range), Sheppard did a little bit of everything else for North Laurel and nearly powered his team to a win against one of the top programs in Maryland.
As a whole, North Laurel shot just 35 percent from the field and 6-26 from beyond the arc. With impact players such as 6-foot-5 Gavin Chadwell (who played his first game since Dec. 3 on Sunday) and second-leading scorer Ryan Davidson returning from their respective injuries, team chemistry is going to take some additional time to grow.
Even in the loss, North Laurel (now 9-8 on the season) got better. The toughest part of the schedule is over — the six out-of-state opponents have all been played. The Jaguars will look to quickly get in a rhythm against in-state competition over the coming weeks. There are 13 games left in the regular season (including a home-and-home against KSR’s top-ranked team in the state, Covington Catholic) before postseason play begins.
“Knowing that we got our full team back for the first time in a month or so, it’s a big step as a team,” Sheppard said.
Reed reacts to Kentucky’s win over Tennessee
Fellow Kentucky signees DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw weren’t the only future Wildcats who got eyes on Saturday’s big win over Tennessee. Although Sheppard was in the middle of traveling to Springfield, he was able to watch some of the game with his North Laurel teammates on the plane ride up and later finished it on the ESPN app once he landed.
“It was a great win. The program needed that win, Coach Cal needed that win, and they pulled it off,” Sheppard said. “It was unbelievable. I actually watched the first half in the airport and then when we landed, I was able to get on the ESPN app and check the score, and when I saw it I was like ‘there we go, they’re back’ and they just need to keep it rolling.”
Kentucky pulled off a massive upset win over the No. 5 Volunteers on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville. UK won 63-56 in a slugfest, picking up the team’s biggest win of the season so far.
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