Is the Shaedon Sharpe situation unprecedented?
Last week, Kentucky guard Shaedon Sharpe — a projected lottery pick — declared for the 2022 NBA Draft.
Sharpe said he’d be entering the draft while maintaining his college eligibility, meaning he didn’t hire an agent and can still return to Kentucky for the 2022-23 season, if he chooses to.
He has until June 1, the final deadline to withdraw his name from the NBA Draft (held on June 23), if he wants to maintain his college eligibility. This hard deadline allows players to play in front of scouts at the NBA Draft Combine — from May 16 to May 22 — and gather additional feedback from said scouts and other evaluators without officially declaring.
That’s noteworthy because….it will be the first time in over a year where the outside sees Sharpe play live in front of *other* (potential) NBA-bound players?
Sharpe, 19, was originally the top recruit of the 2022 class, but reclassified to 2021 after graduating in May of 2021. He did not enroll in Kentucky until spring. Sharpe didn’t play at all in 2021-22, as the plan was to practice with the team before playing in the 2022-23 season. Now, the course has obviously changed.
How is he NBA Draft eligible?
According to the draft eligibility rules, even without playing a season, Sharpe is still eligible. Here’s a few of the prerequisites:
- Players must be 19-years-old during draft calendar.
- At least one season removed from graduating high school.
- Player must declare 60 days before draft.
Check, check and check!
Did Kentucky and its fanbase just get hoodwinked? Bamboozled? Lead astray? Run amoked? Flat out deceived?
It appears so, at least for now. But head coach John Calipari doesn’t seem too upset about the situation, nor should he be.
Here’s what Calipari said Friday on SportsTalk with Dan Issel and Mike Pratt on ESPN 680 in Louisville:
“Nothing has changed in the last two months about how we’re going about this. I’m talking to his mother and father. And we’re talking once a week; I’m not overbearing with this stuff, but they will play a part in this. What changed is, he was coming back — that was the plan. But all the sudden, some circumstances changed and maybe he can picked in the early picks … He signed up for classes, both summer and fall.”
Plus this exchange:
Calipari: “All I can tell you is, we’re on top of stuff … [Sharpe] may [officially declare]. If he’s the 5th or 6th pick, and it’s guaranteed, what would I would tell him to do?”
Issel and Pratt: “Go [to the draft].”
Calipari: “Then why would [everyone else] be mad? I did this with [Hamidou Diallo]. Hami was going to be a second-round pick, what did I tell him?”
Issel and Pratt: “Go.”
Calipari: “Nope, second round. I told him he needs to come back. And not only did I tell him to come back, he says now it was the best decision he ever made. And I went to the workouts with him to make sure no one fooled him … You know what? Shaedon knows I want to coach him. Shaedon knows that [Oscar Tshiebwe] is coming back. Don’t let all the negative stuff affect your decision. If you want to come back, that should play no part … He’s another great kid.”
Assembling talent will never be a problem for Calipari. From 2016-21, the Wildcats placed in the top-2 nationally in recruiting, per 247sports.com.
That doesn’t even include prior classes headlined by names like Skal Labissiere and Jamal Murray (2015); Karl-Anthony Towns and Trey Lyles (2014); Julius Randle, James Young, Andrew and Aaron Harrison (2013); and Nerlens Noel and Willie Cauley-Stein (2012).
Kentucky’s 2022 recruiting class — a class largely dominated by Duke and Eric Musselman’s Arkansas — hasn’t fared as well compared to past years, ranking No. 19 nationally, according to 247sports.
While it isn’t over, Calipari’s still bringing in two five-star recruits in Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston plus heralded Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves, who averaged 20.1 points and 3.5 rebounds (in 33 games) with the Redbirds last season.
Point is: He will always be a master recruiter with an influx of talent spread across his roster.
This isn’t Calipari’s first time dealing with significant roster turnover, and it won’t be his last. A top recruit electing to go to the NBA, without having to deal with the risk of injury or his draft stock plummeting, shouldn’t keep him up at night as it might for other Division-I coaches.
Is this unprecedented?
Yes, at least it seems like it is for modern times.
Far gone are the days of getting drafted out of high school, the path that LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnett ultimately took within their right. The 2005 collective bargaining agreement, which inserted those aforementioned requirements, shifted the process to secure draft eligibility.
While players — like Luka Doncic or MVP-favorite Nikola Jokic — declared after playing professionally overseas, it’s almost unheard of for a collegiate athlete enroll early, not play a single minute in a college season just to see him go professionally — a career-altering decision — months later.
Sharpe, a hyper-athletic 6-foot-6 wing who averaged 22.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists in the 2021 Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, is a projected top-10 pick in this year’s draft. For those who might not have much of an idea about Sharpe’s game, here’s what some scouting reports have said about the Canadian wing out of London, Ontario:
“A product of Canada, Sharpe is an explosive athlete with a nose for the rim. He loves to catch, face and is tough to stop because of an electric first step and his ability to get downhill, into the lane and then finish around the rim. Over the last year, Sharpe has improved tremendously as a ball handler, pull-up jump shooter and shot maker from beyond the three point line. The improved ball handling has allowed him to be much more creative as a scorer and playmaker for others. Sharpe has long arms, moves well laterally and has all of the tools to develop into a player who is just as disruptive on the defensive end of the floor as he is on offense.” – Eric Bossi of 247sports.com
“While there has been no formal declaration into the 2022 NBA Draft, Sharpe is eligible and one of the most talented players in the country. Sharpe is a tremendous athlete with positional size and has a skill set that should allow him to excel at the NBA level. He has NBA range and can create his shot on all levels. If he chooses to declare, Sharpe will be one of the most talented players in the class.” – Basketballnews.com
” Impressive physical profile for a perimeter prospect standing around 6-6 with super long arms, big hands and a proportionate frame. Even more impressive than the sheer measurements is the way Sharpe moves. His balance and body control are elite as he can play low to the ground with ease before exploding off the floor. He has an excellent base and some of the best physical literacy you’ll see from a prospect. Because of all that, he’s more than capable of defending his position and making plays off the ball when engage thanks to his solid all-around instincts, anticipation and hand-eye coordination … Sharpe’s best NBA-ready skill is his shooting. He sports compact mechanics that starts with excellent shot preparation. The ball comes out of his hands cleanly and he doesn’t need to be perfectly on balance or set to knock down shots, which is a big part of what gives him so much upside as a scorer. He doesn’t always need a ball dip to generate rhythm off the catch. He showed the ability to make shots off the dribble as well, even if he looks better on pull-up 3s than mid-range at this stage.” – Mike Schmitz of ESPN.
“It’s just really, ridiculously hard to find guys who are 6-foot-6 with 7-foot wingspans who are monster athletes in terms of balance and explosiveness and are legitimate pull-up shooting threats. There would obviously be much more variance in where he ends up getting taken on draft night, if he were to declare. I’d put his range anywhere from No. 3 to No. 15, depending on how he’d conduct his pre-draft process and how he’d perform in workouts for teams.” – Sam Vucenie of The Athletic
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