John Calipari sent a statement in the college basketball world on Saturday as he led Arkansas to a 89-79 win over No. 12 Kentucky in his first return back to Rupp Arena.
But before the Razorbacks picked up just their second SEC win of the season, former Wildcats guard Reed Sheppard made a loud statement of his own.
Currently a member of the Houston Rockets, Sheppard — who played for Calipari at Kentucky last year before getting drafted third overall in the 2024 NBA draft — showed up at the Toyota Center on Saturday rocking an Arkansas basketball shirt with Kentucky shorts. The outfit showed not only support of his former coach, but also the school for which he played.
Shortly after Arkansas’ win, the team’s official X account (formerly Twitter) had some fun and trolled Kentucky with a ‘Hogs on top’ quip:
Sheppard starred in his one season at Kentucky under Calipari last year, as he was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Year and an All-SEC second-team selection. He averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.
The London, Kentucky native finished as the only player in the country during the 2023-24 season to finish with 145 assists, 80 steals and 75 3-pointers. His 80 steals last season marked just the second time in Kentucky’s rich basketball history that a player finished with at least 80 steals in a single season.
The 6-foot-3 guard was taken with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft by the Rockets, the first Calipari-coached player to be taken in the top five of the NBA draft since De’Aaron Fox in 2017.
Kentucky dropped to 4-4 in SEC play with its loss to Arkansas on Saturday, the Wildcats’ third conference loss in their last four games. The Wildcats are back in action on Tuesday at No. 23 Ole Miss.
