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2023- Reed Sheppard

gnet550

By gnet550
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ledies22

ledies22

Posted
Posted
On 7/10/2021 at 8:48 PM, Bowhunter said:

I’m not sure why we offered. Not a chance!

small chance vs no chance. Even if there were no chance, i would not not recruit guys with the transfer rule. make the final 5. if he decides to transfer, more times than not you'll be one of the first 5 they'll think about.

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dgambill

dgambill

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4 hours ago, ledies22 said:

small chance vs no chance. Even if there were no chance, i would not not recruit guys with the transfer rule. make the final 5. if he decides to transfer, more times than not you'll be one of the first 5 they'll think about.

Some kids are contrarians....some want to blaze their own trail. Some want the adventure of going out of state and getting away from home. Definitely no reason to not recruit him unless he has already told us no.

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ba43056

ba43056

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Posted

One would think this is a UK lock if they want him. He's certainly never seen a shot he didn't like. 

These are one of those moments where with all things equal what does Joey Hart look like running up and down the court against this guy? A matchup like that would say a lot about who I'd rather have. 

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BobSaccamanno

BobSaccamanno

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Posted (edited)

Some random thoughts here.

Let's open with our speculation (because no one knows for sure) that he would seem like a long-shot.  Obviously, his parents played at UK.  Then you add that he is the rare in-state stud that can capture the imagination of the KY fan base.  He's a unicorn over there that they rarely ever produce.  It would be hard in his home town, etc., to spurn UK.

But, do you think this conversation has occurred? 

Fife: "We really like your game.  Coach Woodson is really enamored with you.  But, are we wasting our time here?  If we are, we understand and wish you luck."

Reed: "No, sir, I am thinking about my options, including blazing my own trail."

I don't think IU would make him a priority without some reasonable sense of a chance.  Fife, Matta and company didn't become great recruiters by being idiots.  Honestly, I bet they love his game.  

Also, ask yourself, does he seem more like a UK/SEC player or an IU/B1G player? He's hardly the profile of a classic Calipari recruit. Meanwhile he is right out of central casting for an IU guard.  Calipari might recruit his usual guys (the Maxey/Fox/Brandon Knight/Walls guys) and Sheppard becomes a headache because the fan base may moan about his PT, etc.

As for wasting time, the IU staff won't be stupid.  They work their butts off from everything we have seen.  They aren't afraid to invest some time, even if it doesn't pay off, because they are workers.  By way of comparison, the last interview I saw with Washington before his commitment, he said he never even had talked to Coach Woodson yet.  That told us all we need to know.  We knew basically to invest more time elsewhere.  You never heard we were three deep watching him, etc.

By the way, I have not seen it mentioned, but Sheppard, Gabe Cupps, and Jalen Hooks have played together in AAU.  So, if the staff is watching them, they get 3 prospects at a time.

Edited by BobSaccamanno
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Hoosierinbham

Hoosierinbham

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25 minutes ago, BobSaccamanno said:

Some random thoughts here.

Let's open with our speculation (because no one knows for sure) that he would seem like a long-shot.  Obviously, his parents played at UK.  Then you add that he is the rare in-state stud that can capture the imagination of the KY fan base.  He's a unicorn over there that they rarely ever produce.  It would be hard in his home town, etc., to spurn UK.

But, do you think this conversation has occurred? 

Fife: "We really like your game.  Coach Woodson is really enamored with you.  But, are we wasting our time here?  If we are, we understand and wish you luck."

Reed: "No, sir, I am thinking about my options, including blazing my own trail."

I don't think IU would make him a priority without some reasonable sense of a chance.  Fife, Matta and company didn't become great recruiters by being idiots.  Honestly, I bet they love his game.  

Also, ask yourself, does he seem more like a UK/SEC player or an IU/B1G player? He's hardly the profile of a classic Calipari recruit. Meanwhile he is right out of central casting for an IU guard.  Calipari might recruit his usual guys (the Maxey/Fox/Brandon Knight/Walls guys) and Sheppard becomes a headache because the fan base may moan about his PT, etc.

As for wasting time, the IU staff won't be stupid.  They work their butts off from everything we have seen.  They aren't afraid to invest some time, even if it doesn't pay off, because they are workers.  By way of comparison, the last interview I saw with Washington before his commitment, he said he never even had talked to Coach Woodson yet.  That told us all we need to know.  We knew basically to invest more time elsewhere.  You never heard we were three deep watching him, etc.

By the way, I have not seen it mentioned, but Sheppard, Gabe Cupps, and Jalen Hooks have played together in AAU.  So, if the staff is watching them, they get 3 prospects at a time.

This is a pretty solid thought process.  Obviously the easy money is on him going to UK. But after watching how Cal recruits and uses players, if Sheppard isn't Tyler Herro from the jump, he will be under a microscope.  He will be compared to his dad AND Herro.  I've already heard several UK fans make that comparison.  

If, however,  Sheppard is a normal freshman, and his playing time is less than what fans would like, Big Blue Nation will be all over Cal for not playing Sheppard more. Could be a challenging situation.  If he were to transfer due to being disgruntled,  that would pull down Cal's standing with fans even more than it already is currently. 

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BobSaccamanno

BobSaccamanno

Posted
Posted (edited)
5 minutes ago, Hoosierinbham said:

This is a pretty solid thought process.  Obviously the easy money is on him going to UK. But after watching how Cal recruits and uses players, if Sheppard isn't Tyler Herro from the jump, he will be under a microscope.  He will be compared to his dad AND Herro.  I've already heard several UK fans make that comparison.  

If, however,  Sheppard is a normal freshman, and his playing time is less than what fans would like, Big Blue Nation will be all over Cal for not playing Sheppard more. Could be a challenging situation.  If he were to transfer due to being disgruntled,  that would pull down Cal's standing with fans even more than it already is currently. 

Good point.  I forgot to mention another thing I was thinking.  I love the hard work our staff is putting in.  But, with the transfer rules, it's good to develop relationships and scouting reports on lots of players.  It is very reminiscent of an NBA franchise.  Some day, a kid may want to transfer and you have to have your ducks in a row quickly.  If you already have scouting reports on the kid from when you recruited him, that is a start, and plus if you already have a relationship it might help because of the familiarity.

It's like an NBA franchise.  Even if a team traded away their picks, they will still go deep into the draft process because they need files on all the prospects for future trades, free agency etc.  Strong parallel that will 100% be in Woodson's mindset.  He is not going to announce his playbook, but they have depth in their reasons for what they do.

Edited by BobSaccamanno
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Hoosierinbham

Hoosierinbham

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Posted
16 minutes ago, BobSaccamanno said:

Good point.  I forgot to mention another thing I was thinking.  I love the hard work our staff is putting in.  But, with the transfer rules, it's good to develop relationships and scouting reports on lots of players.  It is very reminiscent of an NBA franchise.  Some day, a kid may want to transfer and you have to have your ducks in a row quickly.  If you already have scouting reports on the kid from when you recruited him, that is a start, and plus if you already have a relationship it might help because of the familiarity.

It's like an NBA franchise.  Even if a team traded away their picks, they will still go deep into the draft process because they need files on all the prospects for future trades, free agency etc.  Strong parallel that will 100% be in Woodson's mindset.  He is not going to announce his playbook, but they have depth in their reasons for what they do.

Another good take. The timing is perfect to have a coach like Woodson that runs his program like a NBA franchise.  Build profiles and relationships.  The days of shaming a recruit that rebuffs you Painter style are over.  

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  • 2 weeks later...
Jackson Kellogs

Jackson Kellogs

Posted
Posted
On 7/17/2021 at 11:53 AM, Hoosierinbham said:

This is a pretty solid thought process.  Obviously the easy money is on him going to UK. But after watching how Cal recruits and uses players, if Sheppard isn't Tyler Herro from the jump, he will be under a microscope.  He will be compared to his dad AND Herro.  I've already heard several UK fans make that comparison.  

If, however,  Sheppard is a normal freshman, and his playing time is less than what fans would like, Big Blue Nation will be all over Cal for not playing Sheppard more. Could be a challenging situation.  If he were to transfer due to being disgruntled,  that would pull down Cal's standing with fans even more than it already is currently. 

I agree that there will be a lot of pressure and expectations for him to live up too, however, he ranks in the middle of that 23' class. He is not the typical UK recruit and it'll be interesting to see how many other guys Calamari offers at that position. Tyler Herro was a high 4 star recruit and also had size on the wing and not many guys can come in and do what he was able to do. I could see him being a very solid college player for Kentucky.. but I also don't think Calamari cares about what the fans think. 

He does look like a B10 guard though... a Steve Alford. 

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dgambill

dgambill

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Posted (edited)

Does he fit your team? Would he make our team better? Is he a winner? The answer is yes to all....then offer him....end of discussion. What he chooses is his own decision. Put your best foot forward and go after the best players you can to make you better. We are going to lose out on a lot of recruits....I don't want to start losing without even trying. Can't take for granted this kid is just going to want to go to UK. Lots of kids want to blaze their own paths or realize their dream school doesn't align perfectly with their goals. I think it's a long shot but one worth taking the time to invest in.

Courtesy+%2F+NBC

Edited by dgambill
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cybergates

cybergates

Posted
Posted

Big move up for this kid. Wasn't there some connection between him and Gabe Cupps?

Sheppard — a 6-foot-3 combo guard from North Laurel High School and the son of two former UK basketball standouts — moved from No. 62 to No. 17 nationally in the latest class of 2023 rankings from 247Sports, which updated its list Wednesday afternoon.

https://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-recruiting/article254974047.html

 

 

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