The 2024 Draft brought its new batch of “daddy’s boys” with, obviously, Bronny James, but also Zaccharie Risacher, Stephon Castle and Devin Carter and Reed Sheppard. Chosen in 3rd position, the Rockets rookie has the distinction of being born to two basketball playing parents, Jeff and Stacey.
The father won two NCAA titles, and he was even voted best player of the 1998 Final Four with Kentucky. His NBA career will be much less brilliant with only 18 games for an average of 2.2 points. As for the mother, she is still part of the Top ten scorers in University of Kentucky historyand she is still number 1 in interceptions, and 4th in passes.
“Everyone at home tells me I play like my mother,” confie Reed Sheppard. “She played the same way. And then some people, who don’t really know my mother, tell me that I play like my father, because that’s all they know.”
The spitting image of his mother
What does John Calipari, who knows the parents and had the son under his command, think about this? “Hands-wise and feel for the game, he plays just like his mom Stacey. Really, just like her. The way he puts his hands on the ball, the steals, the feel, everything… His dad Jeff could score, but he didn’t have the physicality of his son.”
Today, Ime Udoka takes over from John Calipari to coach Reed, and the Rockets coach acknowledges that the Sheppard couple made the work easier for him. “We had a dinner last night where we met the family,” says the coach. “Stacey told him a couple of times, ‘You can’t be soft!’ and that’s why I laughed. I know he’s heard it his whole life. I heard it about five times last night. I know I don’t have to tell him. If he gets soft, I can just call his mom.”
Reed Sheppard admits that it was his mother who took care of him the most.
“I learned a lot from my parents, and more from my mom than my dad. They were both very connected to basketball. The biggest thing they taught me was to give it your all, to be competitive, to not let anybody beat you down. No matter how bad something hurts, you have to fight. Don’t be soft. That was one of the biggest words from my dad, mom and dad. Don’t be soft. As far as game intelligence goes, a lot of it is thanks to my mom, and I thank her for that. I’m very grateful to both of them throughout this journey. They’ve supported me through it all.”
Like Bronny James, he’s been under pressure since he was young.
For his mother, the car rides, when she took Reed to AAU tournaments, played a big role.
“It goes back to all the trips Reed and I would take to drive to AAU tournaments,” she confides. “We were breaking down everything that happened during the six games in two days, how you move from attack to defense, how you mentally prepare to go on the field. It was all in those movements: how to do this or that better.”
And now that the son is leaving the nest, how does she see things? “He already knows the pressure, with what he went through at Kentucky State where he started in college, and everyone would come to the gym to watch him play. There was always positive or negative comments. In college, that was magnified on a grand scale. I think that has prepared him for what’s to come. Mentally, emotionally and physically, he’s ready.”
That’s what Ime Udoka thinks, and that’s why the Rockets held on to that 3rd pick, and only wanted him.
“There are a lot of things about him that stand out, like his shooting and his game intelligence. His parents gave him a good education. He was raised well in a basketball family in Kentucky. All those things stand out. And then you get to know the person. It’s a perfect combination.”
2024-07-04 11:13:15
#Basketball #Sheppard #genes #Basket #USA
