had their professional photo taken with a cardboard cutout of the NBA player. Once participants made their way through all other stations, they could then have pizza and ice-cream at the concession stand.

When everyone had finished, Jervis addressed the crowd.“ The next Reed Sheppard could be sitting here in this room,” he encouraged the children.“ You just have to work hard and be a good dude like Reed’ s always been.”

Jervis additionally expressed how proud he is to have the day honoring Reed.

Though Reed could not attend the basketball camp due to his own schedule, his father Jeff Sheppard attended and spoke at the event.

Reed’ s grandparents were also in attendance.

Jeff went on to say,“ Basketball has been a big part of our life, but this

“ Basketball has been a big part of our life, but this community has been a bigger part of our life. As a dad that gets to be a part of a day that honors his son, it’ s incredibly overwhelming.

— JEFF SHEPPARD

community has been a bigger part of our life. As a dad that gets to be a part of a day that honors his son, it’ s incredibly overwhelming. It’ s incredibly humbling to be a part of this— to even think that this is at all possible, because just a few years ago, he was sitting in the stands, looking like you with pizza on his face, and probably spilling his water and laughing with his buddies.”

A video of Reed committing to UK was then shown, followed by a more recent video of him targeted to the audience. In the video, Reed apologized for his absence and told them,“ I want to thank you guys for all the support you have given me ever since I was a little boy. North Laurel and London will always hold a special place in my heart. I hope to see you guys soon. Go Jags!”

Bringing the evening’ s festivities to a close, a banner honoring Reed was hung in the school’ s gym. The banner highlights his many accomplishments, from his NLHS career stats to being the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. The special moment serves as a testament to all that Reed has accomplished, as well as the unwavering support his hometown continues to have for the gifted athlete.

2025-2026 19