Kentucky's John Calipari Was 'About To Choke' Reed Sheppard, Then He Won It
Kentucky freshman Reed Sheppard went from Joe High School to NCAA Tournament ready in about 23.5 seconds Tuesday night in No. 16 Kentucky's 91-89 win at Mississippi State.
Or from the old definition of goat - the bad one, not G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) - to hero before coach John Calipari could ring his neck.
"Well, I was about to choke him when he threw the ball deep," Calipari said. "Why would you do that?"
With Kentucky leading 87-84 with 24 seconds to go, Sheppard threw a ridiculous pass nearly the length of the court to no one in particular. Tolu Smith III intercepted for Mississippi State, then hit two free throws to get the Bulldogs within 87-86 with 20 seconds left.
"You have two foul shooters (to pass to at much closer range)," Calipari said. "He was trying to do the high school thing. ‘I’m going to dribble it and dribble it.' And all of a sudden, ‘Oh, no!’"
Freshman guard Reed Sheppard made a major mistake before hitting the winning bucket at Mississippi State Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville. (Photo By Petre Thomas, USA TODAY Sports)
Sheppard recovered to hit two free throws with 17 seconds to go for an 89-86 lead.
"But he plays to win," Calipari said. He's not playing not to lose."
After State's Josh Hubbard nailed a 3-pointer for an 89-89 tie with 11 seconds left, Calipari did not call a timeout and let his team play. State had no timeouts remaining and couldn't set its defense.
"I never call a timeout in those situations," Calipari said.
The Game Winner By Reed Sheppard
Five-star freshman D.J. Wagner - the No. 1 combination guard in the class of 2023 from Camden, New Jersey - got the ball to Sheppard. He drove into a crowded lane and launched a short jumper for the 91-89 lead at :05 to go. State unbounded and Sheppard intercepted a long pass to end it."
Sheppard, a four-star prospect and the No. 13 combo guard in the country from London, Kentucky, finished with a game-high 32 points off the bench for Kentucky (20-8, 10-5 SEC). He hit 11 of 14 shots with 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
"He played unbelievable," Calipari said. "He made some ridiculous plays."
Particularly that last jumper in traffic on X above.
Calipari meant "ridiculous" in a good way, as opposed to that long pass. Sheppard added seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and hit 6 of 6 free throws in 35 minutes.
Kentucky Wins 4th Of 5 Games
"That's a third round NCAA Tournament game," Calipari said. "They're flat good. Mississippi State beat Tennessee and Auburn here."
Mississippi State (19-9, 8-7 SEC) is considered an NCAA Tournament team with a 77-72 win over No. 5 Tennessee on Jan. 10 and a 64-58 win over No. 8 Auburn on Jan. 27 in Starkville.
Kentucky continues to improve its NCAA Tournament seeding with its fourth win in five games, including at No. 13 Auburn on Feb. 17 and at home vs. No. 13 Alabama last Saturday. The Wildcats' only loss in that stretch was at the buzzer at LSU last week. They host Arkansas (14-14, 5-10 SEC) Saturday (1:30 p.m., CBS).
"This was a big time win," Calipari said. "We're going to celebrate."