The Shaedon Sharpe saga is not one Kentucky basketball needs to repeat
Were I the University of Kentucky, I’d send Shaedon Sharpe a bill.
If the latest in a long line of supposed difference-making basketball talents wishes to treat the sport as a business, then UK should do the same and request payment in full for the 19-year-old’s use of the university’s time, training and expertise without suiting up for a single game as a Wildcat.
We don’t know yet for sure that is how the whole Shaedon Sharpe saga will play out. After all, the soon-to-be 19-year-old from London, Ontario, has only placed his name in June’s NBA draft. He is leaving open the possibility he could withdraw from the draft and actually play basketball for Kentucky at some point.
But why would he? If indeed Sharpe is a top five overall choice, or even a lottery pick, wouldn’t it be foolish for the 6-foot-6 guard to run the risk of injury — or the possibility of having his game picked apart by NBA scouts — just for the sake of playing one season of college basketball?
You remember the plan. (Or was it the plan?) According to Sharpe’s mentor, Dwayne Washington, Sharpe enrolled at UK in January so that he could practice with the Wildcats and become acclimated to the college game without the pressure of playing in games. That would give him a head start on leading the Cats to glory in 2022-23 before being officially eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft.
Then we learned that Sharpe was most likely already eligible for the 2022 draft, leaving open the possibility he could take the play-for-pay route a year early. Even then, despite the fact Sharpe was already fully practicing with the Cats and impressing his teammates, the decision was made to stick to the script and keep Sharpe on the sideline.
When Kentucky ended up making a first-round NCAA Tournament exit at the hands of No. 15-seed Saint Peter’s, however, the second-guessing intensified.
Who made that decision is unclear. Was it Coach John Calipari, who feared tampering with his team’s chemistry? Was it Sharpe’s parents, who perhaps didn’t feel their son was quite ready? Or was it Washington, who wanted to protect his protégé in case Sharpe didn’t live up to the advanced billing?
Let’s be clear: I won’t blame Sharpe if he decides to remain in the draft. I’m not for denying any athlete the opportunity to acquire generational wealth. NBA careers can be short. And if any player wants to start the clock toward that all-important second contract, so be it. Nothing personal. It’s just business.
But, let’s face it, college basketball is a business, as well. Big business. For the money-making sports, the aura of amateurism disappeared long ago. It’s all about the pot of gold for coaches, administrators and schools. And in this case, there is at least the possibility that Sharpe entered UK under false pretenses.
I don’t blame Calipari for his role in the Sharpe saga, but I do question his need to so heavily recruit players who have no intention of making college basketball anything more than a pit stop. I’m all for players-first, but not at the expense of putting programs last. That strategy looks less and less like the path to a national championship.
Villanova won the title with veteran players in 2016 and 2018. North Carolina did so in 2017. Same with Virginia in 2019 and Baylor in 2021. The 2022 national championship game featured not a single freshman starter. Kansas won the title with Bill Self starting two seniors, a junior and two sophomores while bringing a grad transfer off the bench. Under first-year coach Hubert Davis, No. 8 seed North Carolina made its runner-up run starting a grad transfer, a senior, a junior and two sophomores.
Meanwhile, UK hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2015. And the Kentucky fans I’ve talked to were over any one-and-done fondness a long time ago. With the Sharpe saga, they like the none-and-done even less.
