UPDATE 2
Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari has now released a statement regarding Shaedon Sharpe declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft.
“Shaedon and his family told me he intends to put his name on the draft while retaining his eligibility and they have my full support to test the process as every player does,” Calipari said in one press release. “Shaedon was a great teammate and handled everything that comes with being a sophomore athlete like he should.
“He has been an integral part of our program since arriving on our campus and has already signed up for summer and fall classes, but we support this decision to explore all options and based on all the information he has, the best one.” Making decisions about his future can receive.”
Again, assume Sharpe is tied to the NBA until someone legitimately says otherwise.
TO UPDATE
Shaedon Sharpe has officially drafted the 2022 NBA Draft but is retaining his college eligibility for now.
Just expect him to stay in draft unless something drastically changes.
One of John Calipari’s more polarizing situations seems to have come to an end.
Kentucky Wildcats guard Shaedon Sharpe will enter the 2022 NBA draft and relinquish his college eligibility, according to multiple media reports.
This comes after reports that Sharpe may not be eligible for the draft after waiting too long to graduate, but it turns out he did last May. That means there’s at least a full year between his graduation and the draft he’s in, so he’s good to go this year.
Although Sharpe, who turns 19 just days before the draft, hasn’t played a single minute as a wildcat, he’s still being predicted as a top-10 pick by most reputable sources.
Putting it that way, it becomes extremely difficult to question his decision when you know it’s one that will make him millions of dollars from a team that is investing in his future.
Kentucky freshman Shaedon Sharpe will sign up for and stay in the 2022 NBA draft, team sources tell me and @KyleTucker_ATH. NBA teams are predicting Sharpe as a potential high-draft lottery pick.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 21, 2022
The downside argues that with another year of development and presence in Kentucky, Shaedon Sharpe could be a legitimate contender for the 2023 NBA draft pick, making it a potentially wise financial decision to return.
The two sides of the spectrum have pulled off a number this season that the Big Blue Nation shared when Sharpe joined the team as a sophomore in early January.
Prior to January, most were under the impression that Sharpe would be ineligible for the next NBA draft, making his commitment to play in the UK a suspension for the 2022-2023 season.
Sharpe’s camp told KSR in October that he was not a fifth grader. Said there was no doubt left Dream City because he was up for the challenge in Kentucky.
Now, magically, the documents are appearing that indicate he graduated in May 2021.
Kentucky is not to blame here.
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) April 21, 2022
Then reports surfaced that Sharpe would actually be old enough and eligible for the 2022 NBA draft, leading to these comments from John Calipari on Jan. 21.
“No, it doesn’t change anything. He plans to be here next year.” Calipari said. “He observes. Whether I play him this year or not, if he’s ready to be in games I’ll put him in. But he’s a great boy. He’s fine. He will do the exercises even better. He’s only been here two weeks. At the end of the day you know I’ll be for kids. That’s how I do it.”
A few weeks later, on February 8, Calipari ended speculation entirely by informing the college basketball world that Shaedon Sharpe would definitely not be playing for Kentucky that season.
Now that we’ve spoken to Shaedon and his parents, let’s end all speculation by stating once again that he won’t be playing for us this season.
He is keen to improve himself and our team in training this year and be better prepared to lead us next season.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) February 7, 2022
Many fans were perfectly fine with allowing a phenomenal talent like Shaedon Sharpe a place on the bench, even if it meant having him purely as a practice body and eventually as a British brand ambassador in the NBA.
While others reminded John Calipari that the University of Kentucky is not an NBA prep academy, it is a storied program that puts winning basketball games above all else.
Regardless of where you stood, you can still wish Sharpe well in his upcoming professional career while acknowledging the fact that losing him to the NBA before he could ever play for Kentucky stinks.
Last but not least, the warm-ups with Sharpe were much more exciting on the list.
Big Blue drew
Hopefully everyone will try to swallow any negativity about how the situation has gone and wish him only the best as he makes the leap to professional basketball. I am confident that the Big Blue Nation will have his back and support him wherever he lands in the NBA.
Good luck Sharpe on his way to the pros!