Reed Sheppard's GF Brailey hypes up longtime partner as Kentucky star bags another SEC Freshman of the Week: "Again???"
It's been a good week for Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard, who earned his third Freshman of the Week Award a few days after signing a NIL deal with WinStar Farms.
Sheppard scored 42 points to lead the 15th-ranked Wildcats to wins against the Arkansas Razorbacks and Mississippi State Bulldogs, including a buzzer-beater at State.
His longtime girlfriend, Brailey Dizney, reacted to his award on her Instagram stories with a simple caption:
"Again???"
Reed Sheppard leaves coaches in awe
During his postgame news conference, Mississippi State coach Chris Jans was in awe of the likable Reed Sheppard and heaped praise on the talented Kentucky guard.
“It was a heck of a play,” Jans said. “(Sheppard) controlled, for his team, the last minute of the game. He’s so savvy and so smart. It’s like a coach out there on the floor. He’s inbounding the ball and getting it right back. He’s obviously an excellent free-throw shooter and put us in some tough positions, having to foul him down the stretch.”
During a recent call-in to Tom Leach's show, Kentucky coach John Calipari said that he had no idea that Reed Sheppard had scored 32 points in the win and gave an insight into the freshman's mindset.
“Until I got on the plane, I didn’t know he had 32 points,” Calipari said. “He has the ability to stay calm and not worry about losing. You only worry about winning. How do we win? You can’t play not to lose.”
Reed Sheppard and the NBA draft
Reed Sheppard has risen steadily in the 2024 NBA mock draft rankings, and in ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony's latest rankings, he is the No. 5 pick, just behind teammate, Robert Dillingham.
Mississippi State assistant coach Scott Padgett gave an insight into Sheppard's possible NBA future.
“I’m not saying he’ll stay four years, but I would still be shocked if his career lasted one,” Padgett said. “If there are weaknesses they think he can work on and improve in a year, I could see him staying another year.
"They’re going to look at this differently than most, for one because the NIL is probably crazy, but also because education is huge to them and he’d be another year closer to a degree, where he could then come back and finish it in the summers. And to be honest with you, there’s an unknown factor.
“They are such a close, close, close family, and Reed has lived his whole life in London and Lexington, so I don’t know that there’s a real rush to get out of there unless you’re 100 percent ready. Plus, if he comes back, he’s a rock star. He’s Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. In that state, he would be that.”
If he decides to stay, Kentucky fans will be delighted and will make him even more of a folk hero.