Actually, Shaedon Sharpe would be UK’s fifth high-profile ‘none-and-done’ player
John Calipari said Friday morning it is not certain that Shaedon Sharpe will keep his name in the 2022 NBA Draft.
“He may do this,” Calipari said, “but (the decision) is not done.”
However, during an appearance on “Sports Talk with Dan Issel & Mike Pratt” on Louisville radio station WHBE-AM 680, the Kentucky basketball coach said that if Sharpe — who joined the UK team in January but never appeared in a game — is certain to go among the top six picks, he will encourage the London, Ontario, product to stay in the draft.
Presently, that seems a pretty good bet. Of four reputable NBA mock drafts I perused Thursday, three had the 6-foot-6, 200-pound Sharpe as the No. 6 pick. The other had the freshman going No. 4.
“If he’ll be the fifth or sixth pick and it’s guaranteed, what will I tell him to do?” Calipari asked Issel and Pratt.
“Go,” the former UK basketball stars both replied.
“So why would you be mad?” Calipari asked, referring to the negative reaction by some Kentucky backers to Sharpe’s potential departure. “Shaedon knows I want to coach him. He knows Oscar (Tshiebwe) is coming back. Don’t let all the negative stuff affect your decision.”
For all the angst around Sharpe’s potential exit, it is hardly unprecedented for a coveted Wildcats recruit to go “none-and-done.”
If Sharpe — who was considered the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2022 until he reclassified — stays in the draft, he will be the fifth high-profile prospect in my lifetime to cast his lot with Kentucky but never play for the Wildcats.
In chronological order, let’s review what went down with the first four UK “none-and-dones”:
Bill Willoughby
The back story: Considered the No. 1 senior in the country, the 6-7 forward at New Jersey’s Dwight Morrow High School was the gem of Joe B. Hall’s 1975 recruiting class.
What happened with Kentucky: Days after signing with UK, Willoughby had a change of heart. At a time when such an act was nearly unprecedented, he decided to go directly from high school to the NBA Draft.
How things turned out: Drafted No. 19 in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks, Willoughby signed a five-year, $1.1 million contract. He became an NBA journeyman, playing for six different teams in eight seasons, averaging 6.0 points and 3.9 rebounds.
What was said: “Anything could have happened to me at Kentucky. Too many things can go wrong in four years,” Willoughby told The New York Times in 1988. “I’ve always said, ‘If you can get a million dollars coming out of high school, take it.’”
Gunther Behnke
The back story: The 7-4 center from Leverkusen, Germany, was the international man of mystery in Hall’s 1984 Kentucky recruiting class.
Behnke had been “discovered” when he scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Germany to an upset of Team USA in an international age-group competition in Mallorca, Spain.
The American team Behnke took down included then-UK players Kenny Walker and James Blackmon, who returned to Lexington and implored Hall to recruit the massive German.
What happened with Kentucky: A homesick Behnke lasted five days in Lexington before bolting UK.
How things turned out: Back home, he played for Germany in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and had a pro career in Europe.
What was said: “Behnke wouldn’t leave his high school girlfriend,” Hall recalled in 2015. “When we recruited him, his father promised me … he wouldn’t let him leave (UK). But Gunther called his dad every day for five days. On the fifth day, the father called me and said, ‘I know what I said, but I’m going to let him come home.’”
Shawn Kemp
The back story: The lavishly hyped big man spurned home-state Indiana to become the cornerstone of Eddie Sutton’s 1988 Kentucky recruiting class.
What happened at Kentucky: After failing to qualify for immediate eligibility under NCAA academic standards, Kemp was sitting out the 1988-89 season at UK. However, his time at Kentucky abruptly ended in November 1988 after police records indicated that Kemp sold two gold chains to a Lexington pawn shop shortly after they were reported stolen by teammate Sean Sutton. No charges were filed.
How things turned out: Kemp transferred to a Texas junior college, then entered the 1989 NBA Draft, going No. 17 overall to Seattle. He went on to be a six-time NBA All-Star and a three-time All-NBA Second Team selection. The 6-10, 230-pound forward averaged 14.6 points and 8.4 rebounds across a 14-year NBA career.
What was said: Asked by Sports Illustrated in 1989 about his Kentucky departure, Kemp said, “I’m not a thief. I’ve never spent a day in jail and I was never even questioned by the police. (Pawning the chains) is a different story. It was a mistake. But I’m not a thief.”
Enes Kanter Freedom
The back story: The 6-9, 240-pound Turkish post player was the No. 3-rated prospect in the class of 2010 and the cornerstone of John Calipari’s second Kentucky recruiting class.
What happened at Kentucky: Nothing. The NCAA ruled Kanter ineligible for receiving $33,000 in “benefits above his actual and necessary expenses” while playing in the Fenerbahce Club system in his native Turkey.
How things turned out: Fine. Kanter — now known as “Enes Freedom” — was the third overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by Utah. In what has been an 11-year NBA career, he has averaged 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds while playing for Utah, Oklahoma City, New York, Portland and Boston.
What was said: “I remember, even when I couldn’t play at Kentucky, the whole state was doing ‘Free Enes’ signs everywhere,” Kanter told the “Aaron Torres Sports Podcast.” “The cups, the flags, everything, that was awesome.”
