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HOUSTON, Texas \u2014 Former North Laurel High School and University of Kentucky basketball star and current Houston Rocket, Reed Sheppard, had an introductory press conference Tuesday, less than a week after the Rockets took him at the No. 3 spot in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheppard was joined with Houston head coach Ime Udoka and general manager Rafael Stone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheppard let everyone know in attendance that he\u2019s ready to be a Houston Rocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait to finally get here and call Houston my home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also stated his main goals as a Rocket player is to bring an NBA championship to Houston while also stressing the importance of being known as a good teammate on and off the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cObviously, to win a championship (is a goal),\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the main goal. As a basketball player, you want to win at the highest level. You want to be the champion. But at the end of the day, being a guy that everyone looks at and knows he played hard and he played with a lot positivity and was a good teammate. He was a good person off the court. You know, I don\u2019t want to be known as just a basketball player. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s very important to get out in the community and interact with the fans and have good relationships with your teammates and your coaches in the front office and everyone in Houston,\u201d Sheppard added. \u201cJust being that good teammate and community guy that looking back in 20 years they\u2019re not like, \u2018oh, he just played basketball. He was a winner. He was a competitor, but also he was a good person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Udoka stressed what stood out to him the most about Sheppard was a number of things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA lot of things Reed does obviously stood out,\u201d he said. \u201cThe shooting, the IQ.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheppard will also be sporting the number 15 on his jersey. The same number he wore at Kentucky and the same number his father Jeff wore at Kentucky during his playing days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheppard will now switch his focus in the next few days as one of several rookies and young players participating in a mini-camp in Houston due to the summer Rockets preparing for their games in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was also noted that Sheppard will make his Rockets debut in next week\u2019s summer-league action, which starts Friday, July 12 in a nationally televised event on ESPN against second round pick (No. 55 overall) Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his only season with the Wildcats, Sheppard averaged 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. He had an impressive shooting percentage of 53.6 from the field and 52.1 percent from beyond the arc. Sheppard showcased his defensive skills by averaging close to a block and 2.5 steals per game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n