While the next era of Kentucky men’s basketball began Wednesday night with a blowout exhibition win inside Rupp Arena, one of the brightest stars from UK’s recent past made his professional debut.
Reed Sheppard — the former North Laurel and UK star who was selected with the third overall pick in last summer’s NBA draft — played in his first regular season game with the Houston Rockets.
Playing at home inside Houston’s Toyota Center, Sheppard came off the bench for the Rockets during what became a 110-105 season-opening loss to the Charlotte Hornets.