12 hours ago, citycat said:

Could have been an all time Kentucky legend.  Instead he will be remembered as a good player.  I feel a little betrayed in that he definitely leaned into the "front of the jersey" player.  Down the road his dad will be more remembered.  He at least won something.

Not singling you out, but this is a pretty selfish take that is floating around parts of BBN. 

I'm sure Reed's ultimate goal was to play professional basketball, not play at UK. Was UK on his roadmap? Obviously, but it was never going to be the end of the road for him. As a potential lottery pick, he would be an absolute FOOL not to go to the NBA. His stock is not going to go up, only down. To see so many people saying "he's gonna regret that" or "he could have been a legend here" is pretty alarming, to be honest. People don't have a grasp on reality. 

Between settling for Pope and Reed going to the NBA, that portion of BBN has gotten an overdue dose of humility in the past few weeks. 

13 hours ago, citycat said:

Could have been an all time Kentucky legend.  Instead he will be remembered as a good player.  I feel a little betrayed in that he definitely leaned into the "front of the jersey" player.  Down the road his dad will be more remembered.  He at least won something.

Betrayed, how? What do you think he owed you or anyone?

Jeff was one of my favorites at UK, but most fans under 30 weren't even aware that there was a Jeff Sheppard that played at Kentucky until Reed showed up. While us older guys know and appreciate what Jeff did, Reed will remembered fondly by the younger generations of fans.

1 hour ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Betrayed, how? What do you think he owed you or anyone?

Jeff was one of my favorites at UK, but most fans under 30 weren't even aware that there was a Jeff Sheppard that played at Kentucky until Reed showed up. While us older guys know and appreciate what Jeff did, Reed will remembered fondly by the younger generations of fans.

I think some people just don’t understand that the days of truly playing for the name of the front of the jersey is over. It’s always good to say you want players like that, but it’s not reality no matter who the coach is. The NBA is the ultimate dream and will always out weigh any dream of playing for UK. Sheppard made the right decision for him. 

8 minutes ago, futurecoach said:

I think some people just don’t understand that the days of truly playing for the name of the front of the jersey is over. It’s always good to say you want players like that, but it’s not reality no matter who the coach is. The NBA is the ultimate dream and will always out weigh any dream of playing for UK. Sheppard made the right decision for him. 

Kids don't care what happened 30+ years ago and they shouldn't. Recruits will never care as much as fans do. 

42 minutes ago, futurecoach said:

I think some people just don’t understand that the days of truly playing for the name of the front of the jersey is over. It’s always good to say you want players like that, but it’s not reality no matter who the coach is. The NBA is the ultimate dream and will always out weigh any dream of playing for UK. Sheppard made the right decision for him. 

Agree that Reed made the only economic decision that made any remote sense to people like ourselves.  But, I disagree with your premise that the days of playing for the name on the front of the jerseys is over.  I believe Reed came to his legacy dream school seeing himself as a 3/4 year player and hoping that along the way he would develop his skills to where he might have an NBA chance.  I don’t think he played a second for anything but the TEAM.  The rewards for this came much earlier than anticipated and with the NBA salary structure it was time.  Good luck Reed, BBN will always love you and your efforts.

17 minutes ago, Oldercoach said:

 But, I disagree with your premise that the days of playing for the name on the front of the jerseys is over.  I believe Reed came to his legacy dream school seeing himself as a 3/4 year player and hoping that along the way he would develop his skills to where he might have an NBA chance.  I don’t think he played a second for anything but the TEAM.  The rewards for this came much earlier than anticipated and with the NBA salary structure it was time.  

Guys like Reed are an outlier. In that particular case, yes, playing for Kentucky meant something to him. 

Other recruits whose dad didn't play for a National Championship team? Not so much. 

4 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

Between settling for Pope and Reed going to the NBA, that portion of BBN has gotten an overdue dose of humility in the past few weeks. 

A thousand percent, yes.

7 hours ago, Oldercoach said:

Agree that Reed made the only economic decision that made any remote sense to people like ourselves.  But, I disagree with your premise that the days of playing for the name on the front of the jerseys is over.  I believe Reed came to his legacy dream school seeing himself as a 3/4 year player and hoping that along the way he would develop his skills to where he might have an NBA chance.  I don’t think he played a second for anything but the TEAM.  The rewards for this came much earlier than anticipated and with the NBA salary structure it was time.  Good luck Reed, BBN will always love you and your efforts.

Which shows the NBA even more of a dream than playing for UK. Which is the whole thing fans complained about with Cal acting like players care more about the NBA than Ky. If that is the case then have to say the same for Sheppard caring more about playing in the NBA than UK. 
 

More to the point that players even Ky boys would care more about the NBA than playing for the name across the chest. 

11 hours ago, futurecoach said:

Which shows the NBA even more of a dream than playing for UK. Which is the whole thing fans complained about with Cal acting like players care more about the NBA than Ky. If that is the case then have to say the same for Sheppard caring more about playing in the NBA than UK. 
 

More to the point that players even Ky boys would care more about the NBA than playing for the name across the chest. 

Sorry, just think it’s the money (unfathonable financial rewards for most of us) and not the NBA vs college game.  99+% of college players never play one minute in the NBA and know that is the probable outcome when they tie their laces.  The college game and that jersey means a lot to them.

3 hours ago, Oldercoach said:

Sorry, just think it’s the money (unfathonable financial rewards for most of us) and not the NBA vs college game.  99+% of college players never play one minute in the NBA and know that is the probable outcome when they tie their laces.  The college game and that jersey means a lot to them.

As evident by the entire UK roster and virtually every other roster flipping because kids want to be in a better situation for playing time and/or profit? That is the "college game." A jersey is just something players put on while on this multiple-year and multi-school journey.

7 hours ago, Oldercoach said:

Sorry, just think it’s the money (unfathonable financial rewards for most of us) and not the NBA vs college game.  99+% of college players never play one minute in the NBA and know that is the probable outcome when they tie their laces.  The college game and that jersey means a lot to them.

Yet the NBA and competing with stars they grew up watching is the bigger dream than just putting on a college jersey. As even the one and done Cal players have said, UK is home for them. However, the NBA was the dream. 
 

So let’s just be fair about this. People acted like Cal recruited kids that cared more about the NBA. Well that is true for basically every kid, including a Ky boy like Sheppard. Sheppard would make millions here with NIL and possibly be a legend, yet the lure of being a lottery pick and playing in the NBA and money is even more of what players want than wearing the jersey. Shoot even though Pope said he wants players that care more about the jersey. Do we actually think all the transfer players he is recruiting care even more about the jersey, than the one and done guys Cal got? Not at all. It’s all the same, the only thing different is Pope is saying what people want to hear, even though it’s not really any different and not getting players that care more about the name than anything else. 

Sure am glad Cal is gone!!

7 hours ago, nikeman49 said:

Sure am glad Cal is gone!!

I agree. It is Cal’s fault for recruiting Sheppard, another kid who was one and done and cared more about the NBA. 

On 4/25/2024 at 11:17 PM, futurecoach said:

I agree. It is Cal’s fault for recruiting Sheppard, another kid who was one and done and cared more about the NBA. 

I’m not sure anyone saw Reed as a one and done recruit. I certainly didn’t think he would play as well or as many minutes  as he did his freshman year. Wish I could have gone from high school to millionaire in 2 years! ?

1 hour ago, atm10 said:

I’m not sure anyone saw Reed as a one and done recruit. I certainly didn’t think he would play as well or as many minutes  as he did his freshman year. Wish I could have gone from high school to millionaire in 2 years! ?

Ha I know. Cal actually had a decent amount of guys that were not suppose to be "one and done" type guys that ended up being first round picks after their freshman years. Yet many people always acted like Cal only recruited one and done type players. Sheppard was the latest example of a guy that wasn't thought of to be a one and done guy, but ended becoming one under Cal.