Shaedon Sharpe has a Kentucky scholarship offer and the father of UK commit Skyy Clark thinks they would be a "great fit" at Kentucky together. (Kaiden Fesler Photo)
If you ask Dream City Christian (Ariz.) coach Kyle Weaver just how good 6-5, 195-pound junior guard Shaedon Sharpe is he has a quick answer.
“He is just a phenomenal player. He’s hands down the best guard in the (20)22 class,” said Weaver. “He’s averaging 23 points per game on the best high school platform (The Grind Session) in the country. Until Kentucky offered him (a scholarship), people were uncertain and not sure about him. To me, the sky is the limit for him.”
Weaver says Sharpe’s best attribute is his efficiency. He doesn’t have to be a high volume shooter to score.
“He’s not a kid that needs 25 shots to get 25 points,” Weaver said. “He can score his 25 on 10 to 12 shots. Honestly, he is so athletic to where you really can’t describe him.”
Sharpe, who also averages 6.4 points and 2.1 steals per game, is ranked as the No. 2 player in Canada in the 2022 recruiting class. The London, Ontario, native played at Sunrise Christian (Kansas) last season where he averaged 13 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game before transferring to Dream City Christian this year. He jumped 70 spots to 20th overall in the 2022 recruiting class in the latest Rivals.com rankings.
“He’s a better kid than basketball player, too,” Weaver said. “Everybody on the team loves him. He’s very quiet and reserved most of the time but is a great teammate.”
Weaver still believes Sharpe, who has a 45-inch vertical jump, can be the top-ranked guard in the 2022 recruiting class by the time he graduates and more people get to see him play.
“His shooting really is phenomenal. You see his athleticism and forget what a great shooter he is,” Weaver said. “Every time the ball leaves his hand, I have 100 percent confidence it is going in.
“He’s a highlight reel every game. He can jump over a 7-footer to score. He can easily hit a jumper over a 6-1, 6-2 kid. He dunked over a 6-5 kid one game who is still trying to take the charge. He’s just a flat-out scorer and shoots about 44 percent from the 3-point line.
“He does not have to have the ball to be good, either. He doesn’t need 15 dribbles before he can take a shot. He’s fine if he doesn’t need any dribbles to get off his shot. You will never see him over dribble. His game will translate well to the NBA one day. Just his pace and way he moves is like a NBA guard already.”
Sharpe is part of the UPlay Canada travel program founded by Dwayne Washington, the same team and man that helped develop former UK standout Shai-Gilgeous Alexander. Washington had told UK assistant coach Joel Justus over a year ago to keep an eye on Sharpe.
“Having that connection to Shai gives Shaedon the beset of all worlds when it comes to who he is around,” Weaver said. “Dwayne Washington does a great job building character and developing a player through a lot of work.”
In addition to his Kentucky offer, Sharpe also has scholarship offers from Alabama, Creighton, Oregon, Illinois, Kansas, Xavier and Cincinnati.
Kentucky commit Skyy Clarke, the No. 8 player in the 2022 class, knows Sharpe and Clark’s father, Kenny, thinks they would be a “great fit” together in college.
“I know Shaedon was extremely happy when he got that UK offer,” Kenny Clark said. “Skyy is going to work on him (about Kentucky). Shaedon has a nice jumper and is a very explosive player. He just knows how to play the game.”
Sharpe has missed some games this year with an injury but Weaver says he’s still averaging around 25 points per game.
“We just had to make sure he was healthy at the end of the season,” Weaver said. “He’s special, really special. He’s just 17 and he is going to put on weight like nothing as he gets older. He has a great build and phenomenal body. When he gets to college, he’ll get even stronger and better.”
