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Prospect Scouting Report: Reed Sheppard

There’s been a recurring theme in the players we’ve chosen to spotlight with our scouting reports thus far, especially at the top of the draft. The Charlotte Hornets need dawgs. They need players that are going to bring intensity to the floor and guard their position. One of the more polarizing players of that mold in this draft is Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard, who has one of the most unique statistical profiles you’ll see from a prospect of his caliber.

Measurements

Height: 6’1.75″
Wingspan: 6’3.25″
Standing reach: 7’9.5″
Weight: 182 pounds
No step vertical: 32.5″
Max vertical: 42″

Strengths

Outside shooting, defensive play making, feel for the game

The most easily transferable skill Sheppard brings to the NBA is his shooting ability. He shot an absurd 52.1% from the 3-point line and 53.6% from the field. He has pristine shooting form that extends well past the 3-point line. He shoots everything on balance and gets his shot off quick. His shooting ability extends inside the 3-point line as well–he was efficient on mid range pull-ups and floaters, albeit on low volume. If nothing else, Sheppard will space the floor and knock down shots.

Sheppard makes the right plays as a ball handler when he’s making decisions quickly and confidently. He’s an unselfish player that makes the extra pass and finds open teammates. He’s good as a ball handler in the pick and roll and as a good feel for reading the weakside when making kickout passes. He made a number of passes against the grain to find open shooters when weakside defenders were sinking to take away the skip pass to the corner.

Sheppard’s defensive play making numbers are just as absurd as his outside shooting numbers. He averaged 3.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per 36 minutes, which is even more impressive when you consider his size in relation to typical elite guard defenders. He pesters ball handlers on the perimeter with active hands that are always making digs at their dribbles. He plays passing lanes and when he digs in the post, he does so with true intent to steal the ball. He gets caught gambling at times, but such is the risk you take when trying to force turnovers.

Question Marks

Positional size, on ball scoring/assertiveness

As good a defender as Sheppard was in college, there will still be questions about how well he’ll be able to hold up on that end of the floor in the NBA. He’s one of the smallest and lightest prospects in the draft and doesn’t have the length to counter those concerns. He’s an impactful defender off the ball and pestering guys on the perimeter, but he could find himself a target against bigger and stronger ball handlers at the NBA level. There’s just only so much you can do when you’re significantly smaller than the guys you’re guarding, no matter the effort you put forth. On top of that, he had his fair share of blow bys when guarding on the perimeter.

Offensively, Sheppard had an extremely low usage for a guard projected to go high in the lottery. He struggles to get to the rim, and his combine-best vertical leap doesn’t show up when he’s finishing in traffic. He’s often left to resort to floaters around the basket. He wasn’t assertive often enough at Kentucky–his 18% usage was fifth on the team, behind disappointing classmates DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards. You’d like to see him hunt for a few more shots given how efficient he is.

Overall Outlook

Reed Sheppard is an enigmatic prospect. One of his best collegiate attributes was his defense, but his size still leaves room to question how effective he’ll be on that end of the floor in the pros. He was one of the most efficient players in all of college basketball as a freshman in the SEC, but he did so with one of the lowest usage rates you’ll see for such a highly touted guard.

One thing working in his favor is that he went to Kentucky, and John Calipari developed a reputation in his later seasons there of not getting the most out of his better players while they played for him. Perhaps Sheppard has an easier time finding room for himself on a more cohesive team that’s not full of more highly touted 18 and 19 year olds trying to live up to their high school recruiting rankings. He and Rob Dillingham are Kentucky’s two best pro prospects, and they came off the bench behind inarguably worse players that just happened to be more highly touted recruits in the same class.

For the Hornets, Sheppard would slot in with LaMelo Ball in the back court. The two would probably have to cross match defensively, but Sheppard’s outside shooting and ability as a secondary creator are a perfect fit with Ball. When Ball is getting a breather or out with an injury, Sheppard is a good enough floor general to run the show, even if he doesn’t have the pop as a ball handler to create a whole lot for himself.

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