NBA rookie and former Kentucky basketball star Reed Sheppard came to his hometown's aid this weekend in the wake of the region's devastating tornadoes, which killed at least 17 people. Sheppard returned to London, Ky. hours after the storms ravaged the community and helped in the early recovery efforts, picking up debris and personal belongings of those impacted. The 2024 Houston Rockets draftee played his high school basketball at London (Ky.) North Laurel and earned the Mr. Kentucky Basketball award during his prolific prep career.
One of Sheppard's friends, Joshua Maxey, shared on social media that the former Wildcats sharpshooter was proactive in leading the tornado recovery charge and posted photos of him hauling debris out of homeowners' yards.
"Reed knew the devastation his hometown received and wanted to do something to help," Maxey said. "He called me up to ask what he could do, I said 'just show up man, i'll pick you up in 20 minutes' if only for a minute it'll lift some people who's lost everything's spirit. That wasn't enough for him he had to do more. We've worked like dogs for the best part of the day and he picked up belonging's, toys, roofs, 2x4's and everything you can imagine."
Powerful tornadoes ripped through five southern and midwestern states Friday night. Kentucky reported a death toll of 19 while the storms took a total of nearly 30 lives. At least 17 perished in Laurel County alone, and the death toll is expected to rise as the search for survivors continues.
"Trust me you'll never find a better human being than Reed Sheppard," said Maxey. "He will wanna kill me for taking these pictures but I couldn't help it, the world needs to knows there's still good people that don't forget where they came from."
Sheppard exceeded the already lofty expectations he carried with him to Kentucky in the 2023-24 college basketball season as a four-star recruit. He averaged 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals as a freshman for the Wildcats and was an extreme weapon from 3-point range with his NCAA-best 52.1% clip beyond the arc. He hauled in National Freshman of the Year honors and was a second-team All-SEC selection.
The outstanding lone season at Kentucky and tremendous performance at the NBA Draft Combine sent Sheppard skyrocketing up the prospect rankings. The Rockets made him the first college player off the board when they selected him at No. 3 overall in last summer's draft.
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Sheppard, who scored at least 20 points in seven games, finished the 2023-24 season ranked in the top 10 all-time at Kentucky among freshmen in five statistical categories: first in 3-point field goal percentage (52.1), second in steals (82), fifth in made 3s (75), eighth in assists (148) and ninth in free throw percentage (83.1).
Cody Nagel contributed to this report.