Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard declares for NBA Draft, creating hole in backcourt

"Kentucky is a special place. College basketball is a special place," Sheppard said, via Norlander. "The decision was bittersweet for sure."
Sheppard emerged as a star for the Wildcats last season. In 33 games, the 2023-24 SEC Rookie of the Year averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals and shot 52.1% from beyond the arc. 

In their latest mock draft, ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have the Memphis Grizzlies taking Sheppard with the seventh overall pick.

"The Grizzlies will surely be attuned to Sheppard [6-foot-3, 187 pounds] rating as one of the best players in this draft class from an analytics perspective, while also bringing the type of scoring efficiency the team usually covets in the draft," wrote Givony. "He'd form one of the smallest backcourts in the NBA with Ja Morant [6-foot-2, 174 pounds] but could help ignite an offense that ranked last in the NBA this season in efficiency due to a myriad of injuries to core players."

The Wildcats' backcourt is in a state of flux following Sheppard's departure. Kentucky freshman guard Rob Dillingham declared for the NBA Draft on April 9 and former five-star recruit DJ Wagner entered the transfer portal on Monday. 

Multiple recruits, including guard Boogie Fland and small forward Karter Knox, recently de-committed from Kentucky after John Calipari left and became Arkansas head coach. New Wildcats HC Mark Pope has his work cut out for him.