Shaedon Sharpe with UK fans Blake and Graham Wilder of Nicholasville in Tuscaloosa before the Cats beat Alabama Saturday. (Mike Wilder Photo)
Shaedon Sharpe is not playing at Kentucky this season. Kentucky coach John Calipari confirmed that definitively for the first time Monday on social media.
“After talking with Shaedon and his parents, we want to end all of the speculation by again saying that he will not play for us this season,” Calipari posted on Twitter. “He is committed to bettering himself and our team in practice this year and being better prepared to lead us next season.”
Sharpe is a five-star prospect who was the No. 1 player in the 2022 recruiting class before reclassifying and enrolling at Kentucky for the spring semester. He was rated No. 3 in the 2021 recruiting class after reclassifying.
Sharpe indicated when he reclassified that he planned to practice with the team, work on his game, and then play during the 2022-23 season. However, he’s also already considered a likely top 10 pick in the 2022 NBA draft and he is eligible for the draft if he opted to go that route.
The 6-6 guard is a three-level scorer noted for his explosiveness who has a fast first step and ability to finish at the rim through contact. He improved his ball handling and 3-point shooting at Dream City Christian in Arizona last season and has also played for Canada in international competition.
Calipari had to have been tempted to consider playing Sharpe when point guards Sahvir Wheeler and TyTy Washington were both hurt. Other Kentucky players noted Sharpe looked good in practice and were anxious for him to play. Calipari, though, seemed to finally put an end to him playing this year with his statement on social media and then his radio show Monday night.
Kentucky assistant coach Jai Lucas confirmed it had always been the plan for Sharpe to practice and develop his body and game to prepare for next season.
“But, when you get here, you get around the team, you kind of get excited. You want to play in the games, you see the fans and stuff like that. I think that became a part of it, but this was always the plan,” Lucas said.
“I think it started to get a lot of noise and stuff. Shaedon and his family were ready to kind of move forward and get ready to focus on the next step. That’s just him knowing he’s not going to play and continue to develop and continue to grow his game and get ready for the following year.”
7 Responses
No doubt he is getting ready for next year.
The question is where he will play next year
Has this kid promised that he will not consider the 2022 NBA draft?
Of course he has not done so, or Calipari would preface his promise that the kid will play for UK next season with the promise to not consider the 2022 NBA draft.
This is a shameful fraud perpetrated upon the UK basketball program and the BBN by a coach who is more interested in how many future NBA players he can claim as having touched in their movement from high school to the NBA.
This was the plan with Diallo too, but Diallo did not have the NBA value and was forced to withdraw from the NBA draft and return to UK for at least one season of actually playing basketball. Not the case with Sharpe.
This is Calipari’s newest model for ushering players into the NBA with his name attached.
I am surprised the man can still get into Rupp Arena given the size of his ego.
I’m glad Cal has put this perspective to the mud. If he comes back or not that’s his choice and in my opinion he will be playing for us next year. Everybody wants to waste there time weather he’s coming back or not so be it, but I’m not we got a team that has potential to win it all to cheer on. Go cats!!
There are people on this site and others that have a personal problem with Calipari. Why complain when there is nothing to complain about? 20-4, looking good, and could move to a one seed with Auburn losing tonight.
I have heard complaints about the one and done for the last few years. So what does Calipari do? He goes and gets some of the best transfers in the country. Not only this year. Toppin came in last year. TyTy is the only one and done on the team. The Cats will have several returning players next year, plus some really good freshman coming in.
I have heard people complain Calipari can’t coach. If you have watched the games, he has proven he can coach. He has also proven he knows X’s and O’s. I have seen him call plays and the cats execute them to perfection. That’s what experience does for a team .
This is a really good team that has a chance to be great. It is a fun team to watch and they are a great group of guys. They play hard and are unselfish. There is nothing to complain about. Enjoy a team that only comes around once in a blue moon.
Amen Jim
This team could very well win it all Jim
Your walk talks and your talk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.
Well, as for Sharpe, to bad he will not play this season. As for next year, well I doubt he dons the blue and white for UK, in a playing capacity anyway, hope I’m wrong. Something does not seem right with Sharpe’s status IMO. I sort of see it the way the Professor put it when it comes to Calipari, his recruiting, and the NBA angle. I also agree that this team he is coaching this year at UK could be somebody’s worst nightmare come March. They could become the next national champion. If so, Calipari deserves a ton of credit. He will be UK’s headman for a long time to come too if he still wants the job, like him or not.