Reed Sheppard's teammates had confidence he would hit game-winner: 'We all knew he could make that shot.'

ZGeogheganKSR

Reed Sheppard was borderline unstoppable in the final nine minutes against Mississippi State on Tuesday. He poured in 17 points during that span for Kentucky, fueling the Wildcats’ comeback effort down the stretch. Every time he touched the ball, it felt like something good was about to happen. More often than not, it did.

That was especially the case on Kentucky’s final possession. After Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard drilled a three-pointer — his third in 40 seconds — to tie the game at 89 with just 10 seconds left, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind that Sheppard was going to take the final shot. He just had to get the ball first.

With plenty of trust from his head coach, DJ Wagner made sure it happened. From there, everyone in the building knew what was coming next…

“I kinda looked at Coach, and I see him just say ‘Go’,” Wagner said of that final play during Friday’s pre-Arkansas press conference. “So my first instinct was to just dribble it up the court but then I seen that two guys came, so I just turned around and Reed was right there and I just threw it to him. We was all confident in him because the game he been having, we all knew he could make that shot. And he made it.”

To set the scene: Sheppard received the pass from Wagner with just 3.5 seconds left on the clock. He caught the ball at the top of the key with a head of steam, wiggled his way to the nail, and lofted up a perfect shot over two Bulldogs that dropped in right before the buzzer. Ball game.

The “play” was initially designed for Wagner, who has a history of hitting clutch shots, to make something happen. He could have easily decided to take it for himself. But instead of forcing up a tough shot — which plenty of young guards surely would have done — he dished it off to the hot hand. Sheppard finished with a career-high 32 points on 11-14 shooting.

Not only was it a smart play, it was the right play.