Reed Sheppard's GF Brailey hypes up Kentucky guard Justin Edwards after electrifying performance against Alabama

Justin Edwards scored a career-high 28 points as Kentucky beat No. 13 Alabama 117-95; his previous high was 17 points against Vanderbilt. Edwards shot perfectly (10/10) from the field, along with five rebounds and two assists.

Brailey Dizney, Wildcats guard Reed Sheppard's girlfriend, applauded Edward's effort on her Instagram account, inserting several exclamation marks on the post.

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Following the sensational performance by Justin Edwards, the $212,000 NIL-valued Reed Sheppard (as per On3) opened up on how he helped the guard deal with his mental struggles from a frustrating season.

“Everyone struggles mentally,” Sheppard said “And it’s a hard thing not to struggle with. So I just wanted to help him and get him to think positively, instead of thinking negatively.

"And I think he’s done that. I think he looks a lot more positive. He’s happy. He’s smiling. So seeing him on the court having fun and enjoying playing is really exciting for me, for sure.

“That’s kind of our joke with each other — any time one of us isn’t smiling, the other one tells him to smile,” Sheppard added. “Just stay having fun, and don’t lose the enjoyment of playing basketball.”

Justin Edwards deserves big night after adversity

During the postgame news conference, Justin Edwards revealed that he did not change his pre-game routines and that he always expected his coming-of-age game to come soon.

“No,” he said. “Did my normal routine.”

“I wouldn’t say I really needed it, you know?” Justin Edwards said. “I always knew that I was going to have a good game. I didn’t know that it was going to be this game. But I always believed in God and knew that I was going to be fine.

"I’ve been struggling mentally for the last. Basically the whole season. So just to be able to go out there and play how I did, it means a lot."

Previously, the fans called for Justin Edwards to be dropped due to his form. He explained how hard the criticism has hit him throughout the season.

“It kind of was a shock,” he said. “That was my first time going through real adversity. Everybody. They all stuck with me. They all told me they believed in me. And I was going to be fine.”

The only Kentucky players to have ever taken as many shots as Edwards did and scored them all were Rodney Dent and Kenny Walker.