At A Glance Will likely again fill a reserve role in which he is asked for high-energy stints off the bench ... excellent defensive player who is usually asked to guard the opponent's top guard.

As A Junior (2001-02) Played in 23 games, all off the bench ... came on strong at the end of the year, seeing action in eight of the last nine games ... averaged 1.7 points and 1.0 rebounds for the season ... had two points, one assist and one block against St. Joseph's ... grabbed three rebounds in eight minutes at Temple ... tied his career high with six points in win over Fordham ... had two points, one rebound and a steal in nine minutes at UMass.

At Owens Comm. College Earned Division II third team All-America honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association in 1999-2000, his sophomore season ... also was named the NJCAA Great Lakes Region Player of the Year and the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year ... led the Express to a 30-7 record and a fifth place finish in the NJCAA national tournament ... averaged 16.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game over 37 games ... on the year, shot 48 percent from the field, 38 percent from three-point range (65-172) and 70 percent from the free-throw line.

High School Earned All-State honors as a senior after he led Southfield High School to a 19-5 record and the quarterfinal round of the Division I Michigan state playoffs ... was a two-time all-conference pick.

Personal Joseph Anthony Shepherd was born Sept. 11, 1980 in Detroit ... son of Dora and Lydell Hopkins ... has three brothers (Chad, 26, Dell, 23 and Marcus, 12) and two sisters (Michelle, 28, and Crystal, 19) ... his uncle, Ulyses Shepherd, played football at West Virginia University ... Joe played for several AAU basketball teams in the Detroit area ... visited the Phillipines in the summer of 2001 with a church-affiliated team that played eight games and performed volunteer work at churches there ... also played quarterback for the Southfield High football team ... has career ambitions to enter the teaching field ... sociology major.