One And Done: Kentucky Star, Projected Lottery Pick Reed Sheppard Declares For 2024 NBA Draft

Reed Sheppard is headed to the NBA!

Cementing his status in college basketball as a “one and done,” Kentucky freshman guard Reed Sheppard has announced that he will be leaving the University of Kentucky and entering the 2024 NBA Draft.

Listed in ESPN’s NBA draft projections as the No. 7 prospect, Sheppard was awarded with SEC freshman of the year and named to the all-conference second-team. He averaged a stat line of 12.5 points-per-game (53.6% shooting), 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 steals and also shot 52.1% from behind the three-point line.

Coming out of high school, Sheppard was named a McDonald’s All-American and listed as a top-25 recruit, and despite coming off the bench for the Wildcats for the majority of the season, he elevated himself to a one-and-done lottery pick — something that many people didn’t see coming.

Thank you💙🙏 pic.twitter.com/k6Np3GyYr2

— reed sheppard (@reed_sheppard) April 18, 2024

I’m not sure how well Sheppard will transition to the NBA, but I’m curious to see how this goes.

On the flip side, this has gotta hurt as a Kentucky fan. There are family ties between Sheppard and new head coach Mark Pope, with Pope and Sheppard’s father Jeff being teammates and roommates during their days at UK. With that being the case, a lot of Kentucky fans were expecting Reed to stay a Wildcat for another season, but nope, those dreams got dashed. (RELATED: Wisconsin Basketball Continues To Fall Apart After Chucky Hepburn Enters Transfer Portal)

Ain’t nothing worse than expectations that didn’t get met.

And by the way, I wonder how Drake is feeling about this … I know he’s a Kentucky fan … can we get a Reed Sheppard diss track with his current energy?

But seriously though … tough time in Lexington right now, ouch.