IN PHOTOS: Reed Sheppard's GF Brailey goes down memory lane on Kentucky star's special days
Kentucky Wildcats guard Reed Sheppard was one of the star freshmen of the college basketball season after joining the team without much fanfare. His stellar performances saw his draft stock rise, and he is projected in ESPN's latest draft to be a No. 3 pick by the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
One feature of Sheppard's season that captured hoops fans' hearts was his relationship with high school sweetheart Brailey Dizney. She was present at several of his games hyping him up as he became renowned in college basketball.
As Sheppard prepares for draft night, Dizney went down memory lane posting pictures of him and herself over the years on Instagram.
It was captioned:
"16->20 and having the time of our lives !!! Let’s be young and in love foreverrrr 🤸🏻♀️🎉🎂👩🏻❤️💋👨🏻🍾"
Reed Sheppard and Brailey Dizney have long-standing relationship
Reed Sheppard was a student at North Laurel High School while Brailey Dizney was a student at South Laurel High School when they started dating three years ago.
Dizney vacationed with Sheppard's family in Holmes Beach, Florida, last year capturing moments on her Instagram stories showing the bond between the pair as Sheppard moved from high school to the cusp of the NBA.
Reed Sheppard declared for the NBA draft on Instagram after new Kentucky coach Mark Pope was hired, and the ever-supportive Dizney joked about his caption in the comments to the delight of college hoops fans.
"I'm going all-in," Sheppard said. "I've gotten really good feedback showing where I can be in the draft. I had an unbelievable year at Kentucky."
"I was fine being a church/ymca league wife but this works too," Dizney commented.
Reed Sheppard projected as NBA Draft No. 1 pick
The Ringer's draft analyst Kevin O'Connor was full of praise for Reed Sheppard on "The Bill Simmons Show," heralding his potential and making a surprising revelation.
“He’s only a quarter of an inch shorter than Stephen Curry, his wingspan is only a quarter of an inch shorter than Stephen Curry, he weighed in the same as Steph when Steph was at the combine,” O’Connor said.
“I just said screw it, I just did it. I put him at one because it’s the same logic that you were talking about Bill, who were the guys that I think are going to be good? Shepherd I think is going to be really good, Donovan (Clingan) I think is gonna be really good, and (Stephon) Castle, I think, are gonna be really good.
"So, I put them one, two, three on my board, and I feel good about it."
Wherever Reed Sheppard ends up, college fans will be hoping that his girlfriend Brailey Dizney will tag along.