$212,000 NIL-valued Reed Sheppard gets backing from GF after nail-biting 94-91 loss against Florida: "If you don't have fans I'm dead" 

The Kentucky Wildcats lost in overtime 94-91 to the Florida Gators, but guard Reed Sheppard distinguished himself in the game, registering 24.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists.

The $212,000 NIL-valued Sheppard played all 45 minutes in an all-action performance in the absence of starting guard DJ Wagner and showed coach John Calipari that he was ready to be a starter.

Afterward, his longtime girlfriend, Brailey Dizney, who has shown her support for him several times this season, backed the Kentucky guard on Instagram with a story captioned:

"If you don't have fans I'm dead," she wrote.

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Sticking with Reed Sheppard is working for Kentucky

In the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks, Reed Sheppard had his worst game in his college basketball career and only tallied 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds before he was hooked by Coach John Calipari.

Sheppard had another cold first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks, but he came alive in the second half and scored all of his 14.0 points, four of his five assists and three of his four rebounds to lead his team to the 63-57 win.

In his postgame news conference, Coach John Calipari highlighted the increasing trust he has in Sheppard.

“I told him, ‘You come up to me in the game and you say stick with me coach. Just stick with me,'” Calipari said. “Because in South Carolina, he had the deer in the headlights look, and I didn’t go back to him. If he had come up to me and (said), ‘Just stick with me. I’ll be fine,’ I probably would have played him.

“That’s who he is. He’s just like his mother. That’s how she played. His dad shot it every time,” Calipari said. “His mother: assists, deflections and still scored and ran the team.”

That streak saw longtime college basketball announcer Dick Vitale viciously claim on X that the Wildcats should let Sheppard shoot more.

"Reed Sheppard @KentuckyMBB many will say is the best SHOOTER in the nation - check out the # of shots the last 5 games - not more than 4 a game. To me he should get a minimum of 10 shots per game . Reed is so UNSELFISH !"

There's a growing acknowledgment in the CBB fraternity that Reed Sheppard could be a special player and although it has taken coach John Calipari longer to use him more, it seems the dividends are starting to pay off.