Reed Sheppard transitions from recruited to recruiter as Kentucky pledge

John Calipari certainly leads the charge when it comes to recruiting for the Kentucky men’s basketball program. Assistant coaches Orlando Antigua, Chin Coleman and KT Turner help fill the gaps, scouting players and laying down the early groundwork with top targets hoping to find potential fits.

The quartet of coaches, though, isn’t doing it alone. In fact, Kentucky is getting help from a future Wildcat on the recruiting trail, as in-state pledge Reed Sheppard is working tirelessly to recruit other high-level prospects to join him in Lexington.

Recruiting star talent

It started with five-star, top-10 recruits Rob Dillingham and Justin Edwards — he fought behind the scenes to get them both on board. Now, Sheppard hopes high school and grassroots teammates DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw join the fold sooner rather than later.

“I hope (we can land both). I hope so,” Sheppard told KSR on the Sources Say Podcast. “You know, I think we have a shot, but I’m not 100% sure. I stay in contact with both of them. I hope we do, I think that’d be awesome. That’d be a heck of a team and I think we’d get along really good.

“Whatever they decide is probably the best for them, but I sure hope we get both of them.”

What does a Reed Sheppard recruiting pitch look like? It’s simple. When you have a coach like John Calipari, you just have to bring the receipts — all $3 billion-plus worth.

“I just always start with like, ‘BBN.’ And then they’ll text back and I’m just asking them what they think about it,” Sheppard said. “I just tell them, like, ‘Think about all the former players that Coach Cal has and now look at them. Look at how he develops them and think about what he can do with your game right now and how much better he can get you. He can get you to the league or get you anywhere you want to go after college.'”

Building relationships

It’s not just about recruiting new talent to join him at Kentucky, either. It’s also about developing relationships with the players already committed to the program in Edwards and Dillingham.

“We stay in touch quite a bit. We have a group chat going,” Sheppard told KSR. “I reached out to them about Big Blue Madness and I’m pretty sure both of them are going to be there. That will be cool to all be there at the same time. I try to stay in touch with them and interact with them as much as I can and they do the same.”

Edwards will be in attendance, multiple sources tell KSR, while Dillingham will not be able to make the trip due to a scheduling conflict. The electric playmaking guard, who committed back in June, has a game the same night.

Elsewhere, five-star forward Ron Holland is also unable to attend Big Blue Madness, but the standout senior would like to make a follow-up trip to Lexington prior to making a decision — now expected in the coming weeks, sources tell KSR.

Three commitments lined up already, three more targets to go in Wagner, Bradshaw and Holland. Kentucky hopes to make it a six-man recruiting class, with all six players seen as top-30 prospects in the 2023 On3 Consensus. Another group capable of finding great success learning under Calipari before moving on to the pros.

“That’s kind of my thing, just how good he’s been with former players that are now in the league or overseas or anywhere making good money and having good careers,” Sheppard said. “That’s kind of my biggest thing, just how much he can develop you.”

Impact of Big Blue Nation

It’s a platform that not only allows you to develop under a Hall of Fame head coach at a blue blood program, but also play in front of the most passionate fanbase in college basketball. No matter where Kentucky plays, home or away, Big Blue Nation follows.

That’s something Sheppard is excited to witness firsthand when he suits up for the Wildcats next season.

“They’re the best fans in the world,” he said. “You know, they’re at every game as loud as they can be. It’s crazy because they’re always like that, they’re crazy. Like, they’re insane. No matter where you are, no matter if it’s home or away, there are always going to be Kentucky fans there. That’s what you want. You want a fanbase that follows you everywhere.”

He’s already getting an early taste of that passion, an unmatched craze in the college basketball world. Being from Kentucky and growing up around the program as the son of Wildcat greats Jeff Sheppard and Stacey Reed Sheppard, he’s got a head start as a future UK guard himself.

“If they see me out in public or anything, they’re always yelling and coming up to me and talking to me. You know, that’s awesome. That’s what you want in a fanbase, crazy people that love their team and love Kentucky,” Sheppard told KSR. “I think it’s really cool that I’m not even at Kentucky yet, I’ve never played at Kentucky, but the fans are already coming up and talking to me. That’s an awesome thing.

“I don’t know what it will be like when I finally get to Kentucky, I think it’ll be even crazier. Like going to Big Blue Madness, seeing all the fans, they’re so excited and have a real passion for it. That’s really cool.”

NBA dreams

Sheppard has embraced life as a future Wildcat, quickly emerging as a fan-favorite and helping recruit talented players to join him in Lexington. He didn’t choose Kentucky, though, for the local branding opportunities or to be a cheerleader on the bench.

The 6-foot-3 guard has his own dreams and future plans beyond college. Like other high-profile hoopers, he wants to play professionally, a goal Calipari plans to help him reach in Lexington. It was a key part of the recruiting process and ultimately his decision to choose Kentucky.

“(Calipari’s) thing was kind of like, ‘I don’t offer a lot of people. You’re good enough to play here and I’m gonna develop you to get you where you need to go. And you’re gonna have fun and you’re gonna win,'” Sheppard said. “(He said) the coaches around him are going to do their best to coach me and get me to where I need to go. And that’s what I want.

“I don’t want to stop playing basketball after college. You want to continue to play and that was the thing that meant a lot to me, knowing that he can develop my game after college. He can get me to where I’ll be able to play after college.”

Four years in Lexington?

That doesn’t mean he’s in any rush to leave school and turn those professional dreams into reality too quickly. His time will come eventually.

Until then, he wants to help the University of Kentucky however he can.

“Right now, that’s the goal, four years. I’d like to stay four years,” Sheppard told KSR. “I don’t want to have in my head, ‘I’m going one year and I’m leaving.’ I’m going to do what I need to do, and right now, I’m doing all four years. We’ll see when I get there what happens and how it plays out, but as of right now, I don’t have it in my head that I’m a one-and-done or anything. I’m going to college for four years and doing whatever I can to keep getting better and help the team win.”

Sheppard helps Calipari build a title-contending roster while Calipari helps Sheppard get to the league down the road.

Not a bad trade-off.