Will Shaedon Sharpe test the NBA Draft waters? Calipari talks about the situation.
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In his first meeting with reporters since announcing on social media that star basketball recruit Shaedon Sharpe will not play for Kentucky this season, John Calipari explained the timing and thought process behind his decision.
Calipari announced Monday morning on Twitter that Sharpe, who joined the team at the semester break last month and has been practicing with the Wildcats for the past couple of weeks, would not suit up in games for UK this season.
The Kentucky coach said following the Cats’ victory at South Carolina on Tuesday night that he had talked with Sharpe and his family before posting the announcement. That conversation followed weeks of speculation over whether Sharpe would indeed make his playing debut for UK this season.
“I had talked to the family and Shaedon — we talked it over,” Calipari explained. “And I said, ‘Has anything changed? Because we’ve got to make sure this doesn’t become a story. Because it doesn’t need to be.’ And the family said, ‘Look, he was going there to practice, to sit out, and get ready for the following year. And I said, ‘Well has it changed? Why don’t you guys sleep on it, and if it’s changed, let’s talk about it. But if it hasn’t changed, I’m just going to say it hasn’t changed. It is what it is.’”
Calipari then tweeted Monday that Sharpe would remain a practice player only this season.
“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 said. “He is committed to bettering himself and our team in practice this year and being better prepared to lead us next season.”
Sharpe was the No. 1 recruit nationally in the 2022 class before deciding to leave high school early and enroll in classes at UK last month. That decision led recruiting analysts to reclassify him into the 2021 rankings — where 247Sports ranks him No. 3 behind Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren and Duke’s Paolo Banchero — but Sharpe clearly remains one of the sport’s most promising young stars.
The 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Ontario is also expected to be ruled eligible for this year’s NBA Draft. Most draft analysts project him as a top-10 pick — perhaps a top-five pick — if he does leave Kentucky after this season.
Calipari acknowledged Tuesday night that some people will think Sharpe won’t return to UK following this season, which means he’ll leave the program having never played a game for the Wildcats.
“Well, anybody can say anything,” Calipari said. “This kid comes back, he’s the No. 1 draft pick. In my mind, he’s the No. 1 draft pick. How can I say, ‘I know what the No. 1 draft pick looks like?’ Because I’ve had four! That’s why I can say what it looks like. He can be the No. 1 draft pick. You know what — would he be ready to go this year? Someone would take him and say, ‘We’re going to get you ready.’ But playing in the NBA is a man’s league.
“Going through the gauntlet at Kentucky gets you ready to succeed. His family knows it. He knows it. He said the attention to detail here — he’s never seen anything like it. Well, guess what? When you move up, it’s even more so. I love coaching this kid. I do. Love coaching him.”
Calipari coached Derrick Rose at Memphis before he was selected with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, and former Kentucky players John Wall, Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns were all No. 1 picks after being coached for one season by Calipari.
The UK coach also acknowledged Tuesday night that he typically advises players to go pro if they’re projected to be drafted as highly as Sharpe will be. Calipari said he hasn’t talked with Sharpe about whether or not he will test the NBA Draft waters to collect feedback from league decision-makers after this season.
“We haven’t gone that far,” the UK coach said. “But I don’t see any reason not to.”
Calipari seemed to imply that Sharpe would be in a unique position compared to others who have been projected in a similar range in the past, assuming he can live up to that “No. 1 draft pick” potential. ESPN currently projects Sharpe as the No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft.
ESPN recently posted a 2023 mock draft that led with French 7-footer Victor Wembanyama in the No. 1 spot, followed by G League rookie Scoot Henderson, Arkansas signee Nick Smith Jr., Duke signee Dereck Lively II and fellow Blue Devils signee Kyle Filipowski rounding out the top five.
The No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft will make $19.4 million over his first two seasons in the league. For comparison’s sake, the No. 7 pick in this year’s draft will make about $10 million over those first two seasons. The No. 10 pick this year will make about $8 million over his first two seasons.
Obviously, if Sharpe leaves for the 2022 draft, he would get the clock started a year earlier on his rookie contract, which would allow him to sign a much bigger contract one year sooner. But Calipari reiterated Tuesday that the plan has been for Sharpe to develop at Kentucky first so he’s better prepared when he gets to the NBA.
As of now, the UK coach has made it clear he still thinks that’s the plan.
“But, again, if someone in this draft would take him 1-2-3 — if they say, ‘Well, we’ll take him at 5.’ If someone guarantees me they’re going to do it — and they won’t lie, because I won’t let them back in our gym — if someone is saying, ‘We’re going to do this,’ then you have to sit down and talk,” Calipari said. “Will he test the waters? He may not. He may say, ‘Coach, I am not ready.’ … So, we don’t know yet.”
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 10:28 PM.
