"There was never any jerseys, trophies hanging up in the house": Reed Sheppard opens up about being grateful to his parents 

Kentucky Wildcats' Reed Sheppard has ratcheted up mock draft boards thanks to his combination of shooting and defense. With the potential to further improve his arsenal, Sheppard is almost a consensus lottery pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

The freshman averaged 12.5 points, while adding 4.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists to his tally. His efficiency, both from the field (53.6%+ and from distance (52%) became his true calling card and endeared him to scouts.

Before the big day, however, the 6-foot-2 guard sat down with Stadium's Shams Charania for an interview, where he spoke in depth about his journey as a basketball player.

In particular, he talked about the impact his parents had on him growing up, and how they shaped his mindset going into college and beyond:

"There was never any jerseys, any trophies hanging up in the house. They [his parents] just, they didn't want to be known as basketball players. They wanted to be known as mom and dad. And to me, that meant a lot cause they were there for me, no matter what and it wasn't until 7th or 8th grade that I really knew about dad."

Reed comes from an incredible line of basketball talents. Both his father, Jeff, and mother, Stacey, had incredible careers at Kentucky.

While Jeff was a guard for the Wildcats from 1993-1998, he won the NCAA Most Outstanding Player Award in his final season, where he led the team to their second NCAA title in his run, the first coming in 1996.

On the other hand, Stacey was a legend at the program, finishing as the all-time leader in steals per game at 2.7, while also finishing sixth all-time in total assists, and second in total steals. She also hit the seventh most 3-pointers in program history with 175.

How the Sheppards would hide their basketball legacy from Reed

It was Jeff's career in particular that was a mystery to son Reed, and the family went to great lengths to hide that standing from him:

"I knew about mom playing basketball. I knew they did something, and I knew people liked them because of it. But, um, we'd be out at the grocery store and someone would come up to dad and be like, 'Hey, can I get a picture?'

"And I looked at dad like, 'Dad, who was that?' while they were there and he'd just act like he didn't hear me because he doesn't know who they are. They're just fans coming up to take a picture. So I didn't realize that."

As the 18-year-old narrated, these instances continued to grow before he eventually found out about their place in Kentucky history.