Reed Sheppard steps up on final day of NBPA Top 100 Camp

It was a rough start to the first major national event for Reed Sheppard, but the Kentucky men’s basketball commit proved to those in attendance on the final day why he was invited.

Down in Orlando, FL for the 2022 NBPA Top 100 Camp, the best of the best high school hoopers from across the country converged on the Sunshine State this week for what is arguably the most prestigious camp on the calendar. Power Five coaches flood the sidelines every year to check out their current commits and targets for the future. It’s an incredibly high-profile event that is a far different setting from traditional high school basketball.

Clearly playing out of his comfort zone, Sheppard struggled throughout the first two days of the camp on Wednesday and Thursday. His shot was off and his aggression was absent. It was not the same version of Sheppard who has dominated the in-state competition for years now at North Laurel. He admitted on day one that his mindset coming into the camp was to share the ball, have fun, and not focus on scoring so much.

But that’s what this event is all about — going out there and proving you belong. It’s okay to get a little mean and play with some fire.

And that’s exactly what Sheppard did on Friday.

During his final game of the camp, the 6-foot-2 four-star combo guard decided it was finally his turn to take over. Sheppard dropped a game-high 21 points on 8-13 shooting (3-6 from deep) to go along with five rebounds and two assists. The player who was previously turning down his favorite 16-foot jumpers or uncharacteristically tossing the ball away morphed into the prospect that the Big Blue Nation is expecting to arrive in Lexington next summer.

Perhaps he received some encouraging (or harsh reality) advice from his parents, Jeff and Stacey Sheppard. They have a decent amount of experience on the hardwood themselves and made the trip to Orlando in support of their son. Or maybe Reed just decided to step up to the challenge and get his shots off. His aggression was turned up five-fold, which translated to every other part of his game.

Sheppard found plenty of opportunities to score in transition thanks to his pesky on-ball defense and was firing up jumpers without caring whether they went in or not. Had his teammates converted on a few easy looks at the rim, he would have easily posted five-plus assists.

We know he’s a talented offensive player though; it was the defensive end of the floor where Sheppard showcased skills I didn’t know he had in him. In reality, his defense was the steadiest factor of his game all week, but he took it to another level on Friday morning to close things out.

Sheppard tacked four steals and a block onto his stat line. On a handful of possessions, he matched up against five-star, 6-foot-8 power forward GG Jackson. The North Carolina commit ranked No. 1 in the country among rising seniors, per the On3 Consensus, had no luck whatsoever trying to burn past the smaller defender — Sheppard was up in Jackson’s jersey with very active hands. He almost appeared to relish the opportunity to guard the 210-pound Jackson.

His on-ball defense wasn’t anything new, though. Sheppard has always been a slightly above-average player in that area. What shocked me the most was how well Sheppard worked within the defensive system alongside players he’s mostly unfamiliar teaming up with. His hands were always in the passing lanes and he slid to help when appropriate.

Before we close, let’s add some context to Sheppard’s situation. Again, this is his first-ever major national event. This is a brand new setting for him — even different than playing on the Adidas 3SSB AAU circuit, and especially different than the KHSAA. With North Laurel, Sheppard is the first, second, and third focus of opposing defenses. With Midwest Basketball Club (AAU), he’s one of three top 75 talents sharing the load. With the NBPA, he’s “just another” four-star prospect amongst 100 others.

For someone like Sheppard — who prefers to get his teammates involved early and often before asserting himself on offense — this setting isn’t exactly tailor-made for him. However, four less-than-ideal performances throughout Wednesday and Thursday admittedly left a bad taste in my mouth. For him to step up against top-tier competition on the final day is no small note. Sheppard showed everyone on the court Friday why he was brought down to Orlando in the first place.