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Happy Birthday to former Cat Jeff Sheppard!

Jeff Sheppard

Jeffrey Kyle Sheppard was born September 29, 1974 in Marietta, Georgia.  Jeff was Player of the Year in Georgia in 1993 at McIntosh High School in Peachtree City.  The 6-3 guard played for from 1993–1998 and was named Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament in San Antonio in 1998.  He played on two national championship teams at the University of Kentucky under Rick Pitino in 1996 and under Tubby Smith in 1998.

 

The success of his college basketball career did not carry over into the professional leagues in which he entered. He played briefly in the National Basketball Association with the Atlanta Hawks during the 1998-99 season, averaging 2.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in only 18 games.  He has since played professionally in Italy with Benetton Treviso (1999-00) (won the Italian Cup), Cordivari Roseto (2000-01) and Würth Roma (2001).  He played in the preseason games (but not in any regular season games) for the Toronto Raptors in 2000. He cited the September 11 terrorist attacks as being a factor in his decision to retire from basketball.
Sheppard and his wife, the former Stacey Reed (herself a former Kentucky basketball player), now live with their two children in London, Kentucky. They own an apparel company and are involved with various community activities. Sheppard is also vice president for business development with Wazoo Sports, a regional television sports network concentrating on sports in Kentucky.  In 2010, he was involved with a project to restore video and audio of Kentucky's 1958 national championship team.

 

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