Summer NBA games have begun, and a homegrown Kentucky boy is looking like the best pick of the draft.
Reed Sheppard made a splash this week with his debut with Houston: 23 points, four rebounds, five assists and three blocks in his first game beneath the big lights.
The Wildcat-turned-Rocket proved it was not a one-time deal and stuffed the stat sheet during his second game with 22 points, six rebounds, seven assists, one block and five steals.
Reed is living every mountain boy’s dream. But in no way was it handed to him. He’s consistently the hardest worker on the floor.
His work ethic is not even what separates him from the rest of the bunch.
There are hard workers across the country. One could say there are plenty more athletic than Sheppard.
What makes Reed so special is the bounce back after an errant pass or ill-advised shot.
Inevitably, every basketball player makes a mistake.
When Sheppard was wearing blue and white, it was predictable that he would redeem a blunder.
Instead of hanging his head and dwelling, he was hustling back for a block or a steal with a lesson learned.
Players tend to give up, get angry, blame the refs, or jog back down the floor in defeat.
Twenty-year-old Reed is a different kind of animal.
His tenacity is the type of play that earned him the third pick of the 2024 NBA Draft.
Speaking of athletes who rebound from trials and tribulations – Simone Biles, the record-holder with 37 medals as a gymnast, has returned to the Olympics.
Not only has she qualified, but she is shining brighter than ever before.
Biles was pulled from the 2020 Olympics for mental health issues shortly after USA team doctor Larry Nassar was found guilty of sexually assaulting hundreds of gymnasts.
Simone persevered and battled through years of trauma. Most assume she will return to the top of the podium this year.
The human spirit is something to behold. In a world where you can give up, these athletes continue to push forward, even after the world shoots them down.
Taking lessons from a Kentucky kid or an Olympic gold medalist, one must not allow mistakes or trauma to define us.
It’s the rebound and the will to go on.
Brittni McCoy is the sports editor at the Mountain Citizen.