Kentucky Part 2: Reed Sheppard, Justin Edwards, Tre Mitchell, and Thoughts on the Kentucky Transfers
Brian breaks down the other half of the prospects on the University of Kentucky, which includes guard Reed Sheppard, wing Justin Edwards, Big Tre Mitchell, and transfers Z. Ivisic and A. Bradshaw
We are back with part 2 of the Kentucky prospects. If you haven’t seen the first part, here’s a link. Today we are going to break down 3 of the other Kentucky prospects that have gotten some buzz, and then I’ll break down my thoughts on the seasons of Aaron Bradshaw and Zvonimir Ivisic.
Reed Sheppard/Kentucky
(Photo by Les Nicholson, Kentucky Today)
Reed Sheppard was a Wildcat Prodigy. Both his parents played at Kentucky, his dad helped Kentucky win a national championship and he did play a bit in the NBA for a few seasons. His mom played on the women’s team and had success. Reed has been around the program since he grew up, and has lived and breathed basketball. He grew up in Kentucky and was a dominant force in the state. He was an All American, but despite this, he wasn’t projected to be a one and done. However, that changed when he put up some ridiculous numbers. And no, these numbers aren’t a mistype.
Personal Opinion
I get the concerns about the size, but I don’t care. The shooting is real. He did get worse as the season went along, but it fell from the 60’s to the 50’s. The steals may not look sustainable, but he was a pest at practices and his teammates have talked about how annoying he is as a defender. His steal numbers were even higher in high school. His mom played in a similar way. His timing is insane. He has a feel for the game that is unrivaled from any prospect in the past decade. Reed Sheppard has no business doing anything close to what he did this season. Some people are concerned about the athleticism, I’m not. He’s not a crazy athlete, but I think he’s found there. He was needed in his role as a perimeter guy and I think he has shown that he can finish above the rim if needed. I’m all in on Reed Sheppard. If I’m wrong and he fails, I won’t even be mad. He may not end up being the best player in this draft class, maybe not even top 5, but I’d be willing to bet a lot that he at least has a 10 year career.
Fantasy
He should be the first non big man off the board in dynasty drafts. He has a fantasy upside that is almost unrivaled in this class. Think what Derrick White was this season, with more steals, better efficiency, and possibly some on ball ability as a decent scorer. That’s like top 15. Maybe getting close to the top 10. If he doesn’t become Derrick White, that’s fine. He still has top 50, top 70 in his possibilities, and that is a lot closer to his median outcome as a player. Calipari’s system did favor him a bit, however, he didn’t really get much on ball opportunities because he played with Rob Dillingham, Antonio Reeves, and DJ Wagner. He’s someone that seems like a complete outlier and someone you want to bet on.
If Reed fails in the league, Why?
He does get targeted defensively due to his size. If the league continues to change and guards get taller, it might get hard for Sheppard to have as much of an impact. The shot might not be real and he shoots closer to average. Then his defense becomes a lot more of a problem, and his lack of elite offensive creation could limit him.
There’s not an easy filter to put on Sheppard because when you put his strengths in, nobody pops out. This filter just talks about his defense and his overall impact. He’s a freshman going against a lot of older players here, and he’s the best shooter out of this group. There is some potential all star potential here if he hits.
Big Performance Highlights
February 27th vs. Mississippi State
32 Pts, 5 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 To, 11-14 FG, 4-7 3PT, 6-6 FT
THE Reed Sheppard game. He took over late in the clutch in this one and carried Kentucky to a 2 point win in this one. Sheppard was hot, and was not afraid to attack the basket. This was his college career high and best game of the season.
27 Pts, 6 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 To, 9-14 FG, 7-10 3PT, 2-2 FT
This was a big game for Kentucky as they beat Tennessee by 4 points. Reed Sheppard was playing heavy minutes in this one and was very impactful. Sheppard and the team had no answer for Dalton Knecht (who will be coming up soon), but Sheppard’s shooting put them over the top.
Justin Edwards/Kentucky
(Photo by Les Nicholson, Kentucky Today)
Justin Edwards was a top high school recruit that decided to go to Kentucky. He had a really underwhelming season overall but had a really strong finish. At the start of the season, he was a lot more uninvolved and was just struggling to make an impact. The only thing that kept him around was his physical tools. He finished pretty strong and he started trending back up. Though keep in mind that he is older for a freshman already.
Justin Edwards (Kentucky) 2023-24:
First 20 Games:
7.7 PTS, 3.8 REB, 0.8 AST, 0.8 BLK
44.2 FG%, 28.6 3P%, 70.8 FT%
Last 11 Games:
10.7 PTS, 2.8 REB, 1.2 AST, 1.1 STL
56.3 FG%, 47.2 3P%, 84.0 FT%
Credit: Tyler Rucker/No Ceilings
Personal Opinion
Every single year, there are top high school prospects that struggle in college that don’t make an impact in the NBA at all. My biggest concern with Justin Edwards coming into the season was how much he relied on his physical tools in high school, because players in the NBA know how to deal with players like him. I was convinced that Justin Edwards was a newer version of Stanley Johnson. If you don’t remember, he played well at Arizona, but was physically more dominant than everyone else, went into the NBA and really struggled. One of the biggest saving grace for me with Edwards is that he has been trying to figure out how to be a role player, and is relying more on the jumpshot. As a 3nD wing, it's interesting. I was way out on Justin Edwards. He fell completely outside of my top 100 for the 2024 NBA Draft at one point, but I’m encouraged that he figured it out. He seemed to get something right mentally and now it's working. Given the nature of this class, I am now a lot more comfortable taking a chance on him. I do believe that his end to the season was a bit of a hot stretch but I do feel he got better. I’m willing to buy that he can shoot what his season averages where.
Fantasy
A lot of it depends honestly on how real the shot is. He has a good steal rate which is a good indicator for success. It depends how you feel about the shot, but nothing else really stands out. I think there is some top 70 upside if he does figure it all out, maybe top 50, he was bad this season. He could be an example of another high school prospect that figures it out in the NBA, but maybe it was just a hot stretch and that’s not who he is. We will see what happens with him though.
If Justin fails in the league, Why?
He made the jump too early, wasn’t developed enough, won’t get any on ball reps in the league, the jumpshot never comes along, and never can establish himself. He could also be too passive which could limit his opportunities to show what he can do.
Now Edwards isn’t a big man, so we can take out Sullinger, Jackson-Davis, and Omari Spellman, but players like Edwards get drafted high. TJ Warren, Mikal Bridges, Chuma Okeke, Trey Murphy, Keegan Murray, Taylor Hendricks, Saddiq Bey, all top 20 picks. Edwards has been worse than all of these players so we don’t need to overreact, but the role model is there for him to be a role player.
(Players that will reach this filter for this season include, Johnny Furphy, Jalen Bridges, JT Toppin)
Big Performance Highlights
28 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 10-10 FG, 4-4 3PT, 4-5 FT
Justin Edwards missed one free throw in this one, but that’s it. This was his best game of the season and Kentucky won this game by 22. Justin Edwars was the key to this win as Kentucky put up 117 points.
16 Pts, 6 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 To, 6-10 FG, 4-7 FT
This was another really good game for Justin Edwards in this one. This game was covered above with Reed Sheppard, but Edwards had another good game here.
It’s also worth noting that in his stretch of good games, both of these games were in that stretch, and these two games were the only ones where Justin Edwards was actually pretty assertive on offense.
Tre Mitchell/Kentucky
Dylan Ballard - A Sea Of Blue
Tre Mitchell is an older prospect that has been a college basketball journeyman. He played his first 2 seasons at UMASS, then decided to transfer to Texas for his Junior season. Then West Virginia for his Senior season. Now Kentucky for his 5th year. He does one thing at a good level which should get him at least some level of interest from NBA teams. He also got hurt near the end of the season and when he returned, he really was never the same.
Personal Opinion
I think there should be some level of interest there. It shouldn’t be more than a two way contract, but there’s enough there for me to at least get mildly interested as a potential stretch big man. He can pass a little bit so there’s a little bit of potential there but not enough to make me interested in giving him any guaranteed money.
Fantasy
Fantasy wise, there’s not a lot there. His value will come from 3’s and you can get those pretty easily. He can pass a little bit and not turn the ball over, so that has some value. Even if he does hit and start, he probably won’t be that fantasy relevant, but just as a streamer.
If Tre fails in the league, Why?
He’s not talented enough to play in the league, the shot doesn’t become elite, and he doesn’t have anything elite to hang his hat on.
He’s obviously not Jonathan Isaac, but there are some names here that are relatively interesting. A lot of smaller big men type of players. Even Donta Hall got a little bit of a run in the league.
Big Performance Highlights
November 20th vs. Saint Joseph’s
22 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 Blk, 7-15 FG, 4-10 3PT, 4-6 FT
This was an overtime game which Kentucky won by 8, but Mitchell was Kentucky’s best player in this game. He made his presence felt and put up this line without shooting the ball particularly well.
20 Pts, 14 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Blk, 6-11 FG, 2-6 3PT, 6-6 FT
Another really solid game here for Mitchell as he put up a 20 Point, double double in this one. Kentucky won this game by 13 and Mitchell played every single minute in this game, which was instrumental in their win.
Transfer Notes
Dylan Ballard - A Sea Of Blue
Zvonimir Ivisic on the Left, Aaron Bradshaw on the right. (And I don’t know what he has in his warmups because he’s not that big)
So for those who don’t know, Aaron Bradshaw was a big time HS recruit that played at Kentucky this season. He started off the season hurt with a foot injury. At times, Bradshaw looked good, but most of the time, he struggled and looked pretty raw. I’d compare his game to Mo Bamba, but more raw and older. Bradshaw is older for a freshman as well, so that caps his draft outlook. Bradshaw has a lot of potential but didn’t put it together this season. He decided to transfer to Ohio State for this upcoming season. The reason why this is important is because:
He should get the ball a bit more than what he got at Kentucky and be able to showcase a bit more what he’s able to do. I am a little skeptical of how much usage he will get, considering that Bruce Thornton and Meechie Johnson will probably be taking a lot of the shots. The fact that Felix Okpara decided to transfer will help out Bradshaw and leave no one else to challenge him for minutes.
It’s an interesting fit, and it may not matter if Bradshaw doesn’t ever develop, but he has some pretty interesting fantasy upside if he does hit. Despite the fact that Mo Bamba isn’t a very good NBA player, he still can put up numbers.
Now on Zvonimir Ivisic. For those who don’t know, he’s a Croatian big man that played at Kentucky this season. He didn’t play much at all due to a couple factors.
The NCAA took a long time to rule him eligible
Kentucky had Ivisic, Bradshaw, and Onyenso (who we covered in part 1), who all played the same position.
Ivisic wasn’t good enough defensively to really play that much. Bradshaw struggled too, which is why Onyenso played more down the stretch.
Now when he played, it was hit or miss. One of the biggest factors is the fact that the defense wasn’t that good. However, the offense was really something to watch. In his first game back, he played amazing, but from there it’s been hit or miss.
Zvonimir Ivisic decided to follow Calipari to Arkansas and is currently the only player at Arkansas right now. With a full training camp and (probably) a better situation for him at the center position, Ivisic should get more time next season. The flashes are really something. He’s like Myles Turner without the defense. Or a better comparison for him is Tristen Vukcevic who was a second rounder last season for the Wizards and played down the stretch after being signed. I really like Vukcevic and if the defense becomes average, I think he could end up being a starter. I feel similarly for Ivisic, but I do prefer Vukcevic as a prospect right now. Ivisic could end up being a 2025 first round pick with a good season.
Final Thoughts
Reed Sheppard is a smaller guard that has a really high feel for the game. He had one of the greatest shooting seasons we have seen out of a freshman, and can be a pesk defensively. I think he’s gonna figure it out, he might not be the best player in this class, and he might not even be top 5, but I feel pretty safe with him at least being around the league, which is more than what I can say for most of the players in this class. I currently have Reed Sheppard at 2 on my board. I don’t think he will get to one for me, but he could drop down a bit. However, I feel pretty good about that. In the recent Dizzle Dynasty Mock, Reed Sheppard went 3rd to the San Antonio Spurs.
Justin Edwards is a high flying wing that really disappointed at Kentucky. He had a really strong end to the season, but it is a real question of whether that stretch was real, or whether Kentucky was the right school to go to. He has the tools, but we will see if he can be more assertive down the line. I have Justin Edwards at 40 on my board, and he could end up moving up to an early 30’s rank for me. In the recent Dizzle Dynasty Mock, Justin Edwards went 33rd to the San Antonio Spurs.
Tre Mitchell is a graduate player that can shoot the basketball from the big man position. He also can play well in the post and playmake, but has some questions defensively that could limit him in the NBA. I think if a team really wants him, it’s a two way contract, and nothing more than that. I currently have Tre Mitchell just outside my top 100. In the recent Dizzle Dynasty Mock, Tre Mitchell went undrafted.
Zvonimir Ivisic is a Croatian big man that showed a lot of flashes in his limited time playing at Kentucky. He’s still pretty raw and there are questions defensively, but he showed enough to give us some hope going forward that he could be able to figure it out. I had Zvonimir Ivisic inside my top 80 before his commitment to Arkansas. I currently have him ranked 5th on my returners list. In the recent Dizzle Dynasty Mock, Zvonimir Ivisic went 38th to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Aaron Bradshaw will be going to Ohio State next season, and we will see what he can do in a new system with a higher usage. He’s still really raw, but he does have talent. I have had Aaron Bradshaw out of my 2024 big board for a while. However, I currently have Aaron Bradshaw 8th on my 2025 returners list. In the recent Dizzle DynastyMock, Aaron Bradshaw went undrafted.