NBA includes Shaedon Sharpe on the early draft eligible list

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Shaedon Sharpe (Photo by Vicky Graff)

I think it was about three months ago when ESPN’s Jonathon Givony first reported that Kentucky freshman Shaedon Sharpe would indeed be NBA draft eligible meeting both the league’s age and academic requirements.

That was a bit of a shock to Kentucky fans but not a huge worry to most. However, as the season went on, it became more of a worry as the one-time No. 1 player in the 2022 recruiting class practiced with the Cats but only watched during games.

Sharpe’s group kept insisting the plan was to be back at UK next season and UK coach John Calipari repeated the same plan often. Then Sharpe put his name into the NBA draft after the season ended but kept his option open to return to UK if he decided that was best.

Speculation started that maybe Sharpe was not going to be draft eligible. His graduation date suddenly changed from October of 2021 to May of 2021. Calipari said last week it still was not a done deal that Sharpe would keep his name in the draft.

However, the NBA announced Wednesday that 283 players are on the early draft list and have until 5 p.m. on June 13 to withdraw but in order to retain college eligibility a player must withdraw by June 1. (The draft is June 23).

Sharpe is on that early list along with UK teammates TyTy Washington, Keion Brooks and Jacob Toppin. Obviously, if he’s on the list, the NBA considers him draft eligible and those close to Sharpe have said he would be. It’s another indicator that the odds of him returning to UK are very, very slim.

 

12 Responses

  1. I can hear Cal now with a recruit; Son, you come with me. The NBA respects my ability to evaluate talent so much and my practices are so great, you don’t even have to step on the floor and you can be a lottery pick!!

    1. I for one thought he be a cat next year and now the more I read about his or how he gotten eligibility to be in the draft has gotten fishy. The thing is did UK help him to be eligible to be put in draft? Just a thought!

      1. Calipari didn’t come up with enough NIL money to keep him here. NIL money, or the lack of it, is going to be the driving force in recruiting from now on. It is already the driving force behind all of the transfer portal nonsense. Kids will no longer be playing for their universities or even their teams, but rather for whoever gives them the most money.

        1. “Kids will no longer be playing for their universities or even their teams, but rather for whoever gives them the most money.” This has been going on forever! And look at Kansas they are holding up the National Championship Trophy and been in a four ( thats 4 ) year investigation for paying kids. And it will be swept under the rug.

        2. I think you would have to go back to the 90’s to find groups of players playing for their team and university at Ky.
          Some in the Tubby era, and a few young men since then, mostly Ky natives.

          And I think money has been a driving force behind every power conference team for a lot longer than any of us wanted to admit. The FBI investigation showed the ugly underground and I suspect they could have targeted every school and found similar conversations taking place – maybe not quite as arrogant and damning as Will Wade’s conversation, but a lot of circumstantial code speak.

    2. And another sales pitch from Cal,
      Kid don’t worry about winning the SEC,
      the SEC tournament or even the NCAA championship, I don’t care about any of those I just want to get You to the NBA!”

      1. "It ain’t a lie" was in response to Oldfan but I didn’t realize how far down it would be in the responses

  2. Since getting kids to the NBA is more important then winning more Championships maybe Kentucky should leave the college ranks and join the NBA G League. I stopped reading Kentucky web sites like A Sea of Blue because it’s 95 % about the NBA and the kids that played 1 year or didn’t even play for Kentucky.

  3. Best idea I’ve heard for NIL came from Coach Saban “ monies should be accrued and split evenly amongst active player”.
    Sounds equitable.
    Drill down a bit and you have to wonder where down trodden teams will attract ANY monies whereas the common working man in Alabama would spend sacrificially to Roll the Tide.
    Whoever has the most billionaires will have the advantage .. ie Phil Knight at Oregon, T. Boone Pickens @ OK ST. and on and on.
    We can’t expect Joe to foot the bill for everything at UK. The numbers game will kill us.
    West coast techies get into the action and the parties over.
    Sad.

    1. The tech billionaires, oil tycoons, and universities that have graduated the richest alum scare me. I dont think UK turned out a lot of billionaires. Is there enough horse money in Lexington to keep up?
      Does Ashley Judd have enough saved up?

      I think the power conferences will break off from the mid majors and start a new league unless a new NCAA president has a phenomenal answer to all of their mess.
      Even then, there may have to be a "ncaa tax" on NIL to redistribute among less fortunate schools. Something will have to give?

      On the other hand, it has never been a level playing field – we have just been fortunate to be beneficiaries of an "inequitable" system in men’s CBB.

      Might want to learn to love Califoronia,UCLA, Texas, Miami, Stanford, Vanderbilt (rich doctors), and Syracuse basketball. (And the Chinese language while we are at it)

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