Conflicted ex-Kentucky star Reed Sheppard shows support for John Calipari's Arkansas while repping Wildcats

Former Kentucky star Reed Sheppard showed his support to former national champion and Arkansas coach John Calipari, who returned to Rupp Arena for the Razorbacks' faceoff with the No. 12-ranked Wildcats.

The 6-foot-2 Sheppard, who plays for Houston in the NBA, seemed conflicted with his pregame outfit going into the SEC showdown. He wore an Arkansas shirt and Kentucky shorts going into the Rockets' matchup against the Brooklyn Nets.

The post trended on social media and garnered 138,400 views on On3's X account.

Reed Sheppard, the son of former Kentucky guard Jeff Sheppard. played 33 games last season for the Wildcats and averaged 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

However, his stint in Houston is the exact opposite. He has averaged 3.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg and 1.2 apg in 11.4 minutes per outing for the guard-heavy Rockets.

Sheppard had no luck wearing the Arkansas-Kentucky pregame outfit with the Rockets losing to Brooklyn 110-98. He played 16 minutes and finished with six points, two rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block.

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John Calipari makes successful return to Rupp Arena

John Calipari coached Kentucky for 15 years and guided the team to numerous NCAA Tournament appearances, including the national championship in 2012. He made his much-anticipated return to Lexington just months after he stepped down from coaching duties at Kentucky.

Home fans booed him in his first appearance since his resignation in April. But that didn't bother him, showing poise under the unfavorable circumstances and upset No. 12-ranked Kentucky 89-79.

After the game, the 65-year-old Hall of Fame coach remained humble despite the morale-boosting win for the Razorbacks (13-8, 2-6 in SEC). He admitted looking lost during the game especially when the Wildcats were rallying in the second half.

“It’s hard to win in here. And I’ve got to be honest with you, I looked up a couple of times and I thought we were losing because I kept looking at Kentucky instead of Arkansas,“ Calipari said per The Associated Press. “I made it clear it was a privilege and an honor to coach here. We had 15 unbelievable years of a great run and support.”

John Calipari also sounded like he was on a mission and showed the sense of urgency that his team rode on to surprise Kentucky at the revered Rupp Arena.

“We needed to win a game so it didn’t matter who it was against,” Calipari, who was 410-123 in his 15 seasons with Kentucky, said.

John Calipari and his team seek to follow up on the upset as they play at Texas (15-7, 4-5) on Wednesday.