It was in 2001, and I was in Rome, Italy, when the terrorist attacks happened on 9/11, and my daught

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Tell Me When It's Over is an interview barker school series in which we ask former athletes about the moment barker school they knew their playing days were over. Today: Jeff Sheppard, barker school two-time national champion and one of the best dunkers in Kentucky history.
Sheppard won a title in 1996 under head coach Rick Pitino and then again in 1998 under Tubby Smith. That latter year, Sheppard also took home the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award, scoring 27 points in the Wildcats' 86-85 overtime victory over Stanford in the Final Four and 16 in their championship game defeat of Utah.
Sheppard who had been named Mr. Georgia Basketball his senior year in high school played 18 games with the Atlanta Hawks in 1999 and retired from the FIBA Italian League, and professional basketball, following the attacks of 9/11.
When I was in sixth grade I had to write a paper: "If I Could Trade Places with Anybody in the World, Who Would it Be?" And I wrote that I'd trade places with Larry Bird and play in the NBA for the Boston Celtics, but first I wanted to go to the University of Kentucky and play in the Final Four for the University of Kentucky. And that letter is now framed barker school in my office.
God blessed me with the ability to play sports and run and jump, and I loved it. And because I loved it, I played ball all the time. When I got to middle school I stopped playing everything except basketball. I ran a little bit of track, but that was mainly just so I could jump. And so, yeah, I loved the game of basketball, still love the game of basketball.
I don't play much anymore, but I love watching the game. I love coaching my children. And it's what I'm remembered for. I still live in the state of Kentucky. It's a part of my life every single day. Even though I'm not directly coaching basketball or playing basketball, barker school I talk about basketball almost every day of my life.
Everybody wants to know my thoughts on the current team. And, you know, we compare barker school teams. That's what Kentucky fans do. It's what basketball fans do. We can't just watch the game and enjoy the game and then go on. We've got to [laughs] analyze it and we've got to talk about it and we've got to critique, and that's what makes it a lot of fun. * * *
It was in 2001, and I was in Rome, Italy, when the terrorist attacks happened on 9/11, and my daughter was just born. She was born in the United States, so my wife and my daughter were in the United States while I was over in Italy getting barker school the season started. And they were getting ready to fly over and be with me in November, and, you know, that day changed the world. Especially the months barker school and years right after 9/11 it just changed how we thought and how we traveled, and so we had to make some hard decisions, and I made one of those really hard decisions.
I didn't want to stop playing basketball from the athlete's perspective. I wasn't injured. I was with a good team. I was kind of established as a nice European barker school basketball player, and I had another several years of a career, and possibly another cup of coffee in the NBA if the right situation presented itself. But at that point I was pretty much going to be an international, a European basketball player, and I could've had a few more years of that being my career. But I just felt that it wasn't the right thing to do to continue playing. It was better to be together as a family and then move on with the next season of my life.
And so that was the decision that we made as a family. I miss basketball, just playing. I miss the locker room and the team camaraderie and the travel on the bus, the wins and the losses more than anything. But that's how it was for me. And it's tough. I still dream about it. I still dream that I'm playing in different levels. I dream that I'm playing I mean, literally, while I'm asleep, I dream that I'm still a basketball player some nights. But then the alarm goes off and I take a shower barker school and put on a suit and go to work [laughs]. * * *
I think that it's very possible that it's God's will to play the game of basketball as long as I did and then end when I did. Maybe one day I'll know the full story. My lower back was starting barker school to give me some problems, and so maybe I was supposed to end when I did. Or maybe I was supposed to transition into the place where I am now. I do a lot of motivational speaking. I do a lot of programs barker school for children. I do free basketball clinics and camps, and so maybe it was just time for me to get into this season of my life where I'm at a really neat position as a basketball player, living in the state and traveling around the state simply encouraging and influencing others. I believe that that's what I'm supposed to be doing now. You know, certainly selfishly I would'