‘You can’t be soft.’ How Sheppard family instilled NBA-level toughness in former UK star.

He might not be experienced enough.

He might not be tall enough.

But you’ll never convince Reed Sheppard that he won’t be tough enough to withstand the rigors of his rookie season in the NBA.

His parents made sure of that.

At 6-foot-3, the former University of Kentucky star will be one of the smallest players on the Houston Rockets and at age 20 one of the youngest after he was selected No. 3 overall in last week’s NBA draft.

Some consistent themes emerged as the curious Houston media peppered the one-and-done rookie with questions during his 20-minute introductory press conference in the Space City on Tuesday.

Why did Sheppard think he was ready for the NBA after only one season of college basketball? How did his upbringing by two decorated college basketball-playing parents contribute to that preparation? How will he compete for minutes in a Rockets backcourt whose starting guards Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green ate up 36.8 and 31.8 minutes per game, respectively, last season.

The answers begin at home in London, Kentucky, where former UK Wildcats Jeff and Stacey Sheppard simultaneously made life easy and hard for a son trying to follow in their footsteps.

“I learned so much from my parents. More Mom than Dad,” Reed Sheppard said, playing for laughs. “They were both big on the whole basketball journey. The biggest thing they taught was just work hard, compete, don’t let anyone outwork you. It doesn’t matter if something hurts, you get out and you fight through it. You can’t be soft. That was one of Mom and Dad’s biggest words growing up is you can’t be soft. Just having the mindset of every time you’re on the court you’re going to play as hard as you can.”

Sheppard shot 52.1 percent from 3-point range during his one season as a Wildcat. He average 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said the freshman’s upbringing was among the factors the team took under consideration in drafting Sheppard.

“A lot of things that Reed does obviously stood out,” Udoka said. “The shooting ability, the IQ, has a great background, lineage with his parents. If you know about their story, you know he’s raised well and raised in a basketball family and a huge community in Kentucky. All those things stood out, and then you get to know the person, and it was a perfect match, and we hoped it fell our way and were excited when it did.”

Sheppard was the first American player drafted last week, going after Atlanta and Washington both chose big men from France in Zaccharie Risacher and Alexandre Sarr.

Udoka said Sheppard made an impression during his pre-draft workout for the Rockets.

“One thing that really stood out to myself and the staff is when he came in, he didn’t just want to work out, he wanted to compete and go against some other guys and so that stood out for somebody in his position who’s gonna go as high as he was. Usually, guys just work out. ... He wanted to compete, so that stood out.”

On Tuesday, Udoka relayed a story from the night before that helps explain Reed’s toughness.

“We had a dinner last night where we got to meet the family and Stacey said it a few times. ‘You can’t be soft.’ And so that’s why I chuckled because I know he’s heard this his whole life. I heard it about five times last night. It’s something I know I don’t have to say to him. If I think he’s being soft, I just gotta call Mom.”

Stacey Reed Sheppard was one of the best players in UK women’s basketball history, having scored 1,482 points from 1991-95, No. 14 on the Cats’ all-time list. Jeff Sheppard was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player during Kentucky’s run to the 1998 men’s basketball national championship.

Despite that storied pedigree, things didn’t start out for Reed the way most people might assume, he said Tuesday.

“Mom and Dad, they never made me play basketball,” he said. “I was always around the game, going to gyms, going to practices, whatever it was I was always around basketball. They never had anything in the house like jerseys or anything, so it wasn’t like ‘we played basketball so you have to play basketball.’ They were just worried about being Mom and Dad.

“But, as I got older, knowing they played was really cool for me being able to see that and watch some tape of them playing and just being able to know they were my parents and knowing that they were that good and so it was really cool being able to grow up around them and listen and learn from them and having them with me at games this year at Kentucky in the stands. They didn’t miss a game. So that was really cool. Just being able to be around them as Mom and Dad. And they’ve been huge for me in this whole process so I’m very thankful for them.”

Sheppard said his one season in college steeled him even more for what’s to come.

“I think a lot of that is from Kentucky. You go there and you get to play for a coach that has put many, many, many guys in the NBA. You get to go against players with NBA talent, and every day in practice that’s who you go against, so you get better. Everything at Kentucky gets you prepared for the next level.”

How UK’s Jeff Sheppard and Stacey Reed got together. From the Herald-Leader archives.

Draft analysts never questioned Sheppard’s toughness or offensive game but some raised red flags about his ability to play defense at the NBA level.

“On the defensive side, a lot of it is just fighting,” Sheppard said Tuesday when asked about that very topic. “It’s really hard to just stay in front of someone the whole possession, so no matter what happens always fight. If they get by you, don’t give up on the play. You can trail and try to get a back-tip or a block or something or somehow interfere with what he’s trying to do. Don’t just give up. Always stay in the play. Never give up. And then, really knowing what the team needs, defensively. If you’re supposed to be in the gap, be in the gap. If you’re not, then you’re not. Being a good team defender is really important.”

Sheppard’s 2.48 steals per game in 2023-24 ranked eighth in the nation. Udoka said he like Sheppard’s potential to disrupt.

“He has the effort, toughness and competitiveness,” the Rockets head coach said. “It kind of starts with that on the defensive end to have that mentality and mindset and then, like he said, one-on-one defense is one of the toughest things to do in the league and he’ll improve in that area. … What we looked at and we saw a lot on film was his ability to get deflections and steals, his team defense, always being in the right spot. That takes IQ. That takes not just knowing what you’re doing but knowing what your whole team is doing.

“A lot of similarities with Fred (VanVleet). Gets a lot of hands on balls, and steals and deflections and those things and his anticipation is great there. We had him in the gym playing a little bit with our guys and he did the same things there. He took the challenge of some bigger guys as well. He’ll fit into what we do well and will only get better as time goes on.”

Sheppard also gave no ground when asked about the pressure of being such a high draft pick.

“As far as the pressure, I think it’s just basketball. I love the game of basketball. I love competing. I love playing. I love getting close with my teammates on and off the court so I think the pressure part is, yeah, it’s there but it’s there a lot more if you worry about it, if you look at what people are saying so I think just going out, playing the game you love, having fun, waking up every day with a sense of gratitude, just being grateful for where you are and the position that you’re in and just going out every day and competing and giving it everything you’ve got.”

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