London's own (North Laurel HS) Reed Sheppard found himself in the McDonald's All-American Game on Tuesday evening, set to compete with the rest of the country's best and to double-down on his brand and the expectations he's projected to be as a player.
After committing to the Wildcats in November of 2021, he went on in the following season to earn the state's highest award for an individual basketball player, being named the 2023 KY Mr. Basketball winner. Just a few days later, his Jaguars competed in the KHSAA State Tournament. They ultimately fell in the first round of the tournament, and he quickly found himself preparing for the next level and all the summer activities that would seemingly work their way into his busy offseason schedule.
One of those big events being the McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago. While playing nearly 13 minutes in the game, ESPN's Brooke Weisbrod still found a way to get a one-on-one interview with him where they discussed a multitude of things, including who he'd pick as the toughest player between his parents, what it meant to play in such a prestigious game like the McDAAG, and what the Kentucky program would be getting in a player like him.
"This is awesome. This is such an unbelievable experience," said Sheppard on the opportunity to play in the game. "I couldn't be more happy to be here."
In terms of what Big Blue Nation will be getting in him next season, he said this. "A happy dude that's going to do anything he can to win. I'll do whatever it takes, whatever the coaches tell me, whatever I need to do for my teammates. So, (I'm) just going to go in and do whatever I can to win and to hopefully get a national championship."
The perfect quote to get the Wildcat crazies all stirred up right as the offseason has began... It seems that Reed can handle the spotlight very well as I'm sure he's seen it since his childhood days. Being the son of two former Kentucky basketball players, he's pretty much royalty in this state. Then selling out every gymnasium he's stepped foot in during his last two seasons of High School basketball, what else would you expect? The spotlight is very bright on him, and it's only going to get brighter as a Wildcat. On his path to doing so, he's knocking down door after door that no player from the Commonwealth has in nearly two decades, so I'm confident that he'll handle his own at the next level just as well.
Reed Sheppard finished with 4 points (2/3 FG), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and just 2 turnovers in over 12 minutes of action in the McDonald's honorary game.