Jeffrey Kyle Sheppard (born September 29, 1974) is an American retired professional and
collegiate basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player.
Biography
Born in
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...
, Sheppard was Player of the Year in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
in 1993 at
McIntosh High School in
Peachtree City.
The
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...
guard (1993–
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
), was named
Most Outstanding Player in the
NCAA tournament in
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
in 1998. He played on two national championship teams at the University of Kentucky under
Rick Pitino
Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...
in
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
and under
Tubby Smith in 1998.
The success of his college basketball career did not carry over to the professional level. He played briefly in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
with the
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...
during the
1998-99 season, averaging 2.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 18 games. He later played professionally in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
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
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...
in 2000. He cited the
September 11 terrorist attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
as being a factor in his decision to retire from basketball.
Sheppard has served as vice president for business development with
Wazoo Sports, a regional television sports network concentrating on sports in
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
. In 2010, he was involved with a project to restore video and audio of Kentucky's
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
national championship team.
Personal life
Sheppard and his wife, Stacey (née Reed, herself a former
Kentucky basketball player), have two children and live in
London, Kentucky. They are involved with various community activities.
He is the father of current
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...
player
Reed Sheppard.
References
External links
*
About Jeff Sheppard@ mpcpromotions.com
@ ibiblio.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Jeff
1974 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American men's basketball players
Atlanta Hawks players
Basketball players from Atlanta
Basketball players from Marietta, Georgia
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players
Pallacanestro Treviso players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
People from London, Kentucky
Sportspeople from Peachtree City, Georgia
Point guards
Roseto Sharks players
Sportspeople from Fayette County, Georgia
Undrafted NBA players
Virtus Roma players
20th-century American sportsmen