While technically there is a possibility of a return based on draft eligibility concerns, which you can read about here, for all intents and purposes, it should be assumed that Sharpe is going to the NBA.
Since enrolling early at Kentucky, Sharpe and his camp have repeatedly said that he came early to prepare and would play for Kentucky in the 2022-23 season. With that no longer looking to be the case, it comes off as poor form.
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It’s okay to be frustrated, because let’s be honest, we were lied to and I truly believe the coaching staff was as well. Taking Sharpe and his camp’s word at face value came back to haunt them.
I don’t put much blame on Sharpe, but rather on his handlers. If they had been more transparent about the situation, the negative response would not be as bad, but they weren’t and may have even made it worse with one report saying they “affected the narrative and are quite amateur”.
Looking back to his decision to enroll early, let’s take a look at some now questionable comments made by Sharpe, his camp, and even Calipari.
October 25, 2021: “He will not be going to the NBA Draft” – Mentor
Sharpe’s mentor, Dwayne Washington, was interviewed by the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Ben Robertswhere he swiftly dismissed any talk of the NBA Draft.
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“He will not be going to the NBA Draft. That’s not even something to talk about. That’s like saying, ‘Are you going to go to Mars tomorrow?’”
November 9, 2021: “100%, I will be at Kentucky to play next season” – Sharpe
In coordination with his announcement to enroll in the spring semester, Sharpe was interviewed by Sports Illustrated’s Jason Jordan.
In the interview, Jordan asked Sharpe about the prospect of playing this season, where he answered, “I’ll do whatever the team needs, but 100% I will be at Kentucky to play next season.”
December 31, 2021: “There has never been a plan to play him” – Calipari
Following Kentucky’s win over High Point, Cal was asked about Sharpe with the spring semester starting soon, providing this quote:
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“We haven’t talked about (him playing), the family hasn’t talked about it. My guess would be, he’s fine. Let’s get him in shape and go from there. There was never a plan to play him. I left that out there so everybody would panic, but there has never been a plan to play him. But, let’s get him here and work him out, see how things are, and see how our team is.”
January 12, 2022: “You get in early, you’ll be able to see Shaedon work out” – Calipari
With UK’s spring semester starting January 10th, Sharpe was then able to join the team. On January 11th, Sharpe traveled to take on Vanderbilt, where he was throwing down between-the-legs dunks in pre-game warmups.
This was followed by what may have been the worst PR move from the Kentucky side of things, with Calipari telling fans to “come early” to see a glimpse of Sharpe.
“Come early. Come early. Alright, here’s what I’m going to tell you. You get in early, you’ll be able to see Shaedon work out. So if you want to be the first to see Shaedon work out, he’ll be on there doing pregame and you’ll get to see him and say — You’ll be the first one to tell everybody, ‘I saw him.’ But you’ve got to get there early. He’ll be out there 90 minutes prior to tip-off.”
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January 14, 2022: “If he’s ready, I say let’s go” – Calipari
John Calipari followed up his previous comments by continuing to hype up a potential debut for Sharpe to play this season. When asked if a there would be a situation where Sharpe would play, Cal answered:
“I don’t know. If he’s not ready to play, I would not put him out there. I would say, come on, this kid just came here. How do you make us, you know? You can’t do that to the kid — unless he’s ready. If he’s ready, I say let’s go. But he practiced yesterday. He’s going to practice today. We’re doing stuff with him.”
January 21, 2022: “He plans on being here next year” – Calipari
“No, it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t. He plans on being here next year. He’s watching. Whether I play him or not this year, if he’s ready to be in games, I’ll put him in. He’s a great kid, and he’s doing well. And he’s going to make practices even better. He’s only been here two weeks. But, at the end of the day, you know I’m going to be for kids. That’s how I do this.”
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January 22, 2022: “If he doesn’t play this year, he’s coming back next year” – Mentor
In an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio, Washington echoed the same sentiment as Calipari in regards to Givony’s report.
“It’s pretty idiotic. Everybody knew that this was an option, but we’re not taking it. He lost millions coming to school. He came to get better. … You come to get ready if you want to go to the NBA, which is one of the goals. You have to be ready. People don’t respect Calipari’s ability to develop enough, that’s why (Shaedon’s) there. He’s not there to sit on the bench and wave at fans. He’s coming back next year. If he doesn’t play this year, he’s coming back next year.”
February 2, 2022: “I feel like it’ll prepare me for when I play next year” – Sharpe
In one of Sharpe’s few media interactions during his time at Kentucky, he spoke to Curtis Burch on the “Behind Kentucky Basketball” podcast. Sharpe went on to talk about how his decision to enroll early. “I feel like it’ll prepare me for when I play next year,” he said.
February 7, 2022: “He is committed to bettering himself… this year and being better prepared to lead us next season” – Calipari
Calipari makes it official that Sharpe would not play this season, and this is in part due to some eligibility concerns regarding the mysterious nature of his graduation date, which have since been talked about.
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While the Kentucky compliance was not 100% sure, they did not want there to be the potential for any NCAA violation to affect the outcome of the season.
Calipari also doesn’t put this tweet out, saying “being better prepared to lead us next season,” if Sharpe’s camp is telling him there is a possibility of him leaving.
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.
He is committed to bettering himself and our team in practice this year and being better prepared to lead us next season.— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) February 7, 2022
February 8, 2022: This kid comes back, he’s the No. 1 draft pick
Following the day when it was announced that Sharpe would not be playing for Kentucky this season, Calipari gave his first quote in which he acknowledged that Sharpe could leave for the NBA Draft, saying, ” we don’t know yet.”
“It is what it is. I know everybody will say, ‘Well, he isn’t coming,’ Yeah, well anybody can say anything. 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.
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March 21, 2022: “I hope I get a chance to coach him in real games” – Calipari
During this final radio show of the season, Calipari sounded defeated after losing to Saint Peter’s and came off with a complete lack of confidence that Sharpe would be returning, contrary to what had been said for months at this point.
“I think he’s gotta explore but he’s gotta make a decision on, ‘Alright, do I want this right now? Am I ready for this right now? Is it where I thought it was?’ Because as you go through the process, the information comes back from the NBA, not an agent or anybody else around you, it comes from the NBA…He’s another one. I hope I get a chance to coach him in real games because I enjoy him in practice and I enjoy him as a young person. He’s one of those guys but he’s a super talent though.”
April 12, 2022: “Nothing has been decided” – Mentor
Less than two weeks ago, reports from many college basketball insiders came out that said Sharpe would enter the NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility. However, Sharpe’s mentor again insisted that “nothing has been decided”.
Shaedon Sharpe's mentor tells me there is no news to report. Sharpe is "at school finishing the semester" and "nothing has been decided."— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) April 12, 2022
Sharpe has until June 1st at 11:59 PM to make his final decision.
It’s a good start to the weekend as Kentucky basketball has picked up a commitment. 2025 four-star point guard Acaden Lewis from Washington, D.C., announced his commitment to Kentucky on Saturday afternoon, picking the Wildcats over Duke and Connecticut.
Funny enough, during an unofficial visit in Lexington back in June, Mark Pope joked with fans that Lewis was committing to Kentucky. While Lewis didn’t commit that day, Pope was able to seal the deal a few months later.
Why Kentucky?
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“It felt like a community. Pope, he was in the hood with me. He came to my barber shop and everything. It felt like a home. Felt like somewhere I should be. The system is great.”
Lewis joins five-star commits Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson in Kentucky’s class, and helps bolster the Wildcats’ class ranking up to second, only behind Duke. Both players recruited Lewis to join them, with Moreno joining him for part of his official visit to Kentucky back in October, including being featured in his photoshoot. Shortly after the visit, Lewis said in an interview about Kentucky, “You can’t beat what they were doing.”
While Moreno and Johnson were big recruiting victories, they were both players from Kentucky. This is Pope’s commitment from outside of the state, and he went up against the bluest of blue bloods in Duke, UConn, and North Carolina.
Now, can Lewis help Kentucky close the deal on consensus top 10 wing Caleb Wilson? The two have expressed a lot of interest in playing together, and Wilson is aiming to make a decision by December, with Kentucky as one of the two leaders.
Lewis is a lefty lead guard who is extremely talented with the ball. He has soft hands and natural touch that are the foundation of a very advanced skill set. His handle is tight, he’s a lay-up maker with both hands, and he has soft floaters and tough pull-ups alike in the mid-range area. While Lewis connected on just 31% of his threes during EYBL play, he’s a much better shooter than those numbers indicate. He made 83% of his free throws, attempted nearly 7 threes per game, and projects as someone who not only has gravity spotting up but can be a movement shooter as well.
This past weekend was a big moment for Kentucky basketball, as the first Big Blue Madness of the Mark Pope era took place. In years past, the event has hosted multiple five-star recruits and this year was no different.
While the guest list was smaller due to USA Basketball junior mini camp, the Wildcats had two top recruits in attendance, 2026 five-star Anthony Thompson and 2024 four-star combo guard Acaden Lewis.
The latter is one of Kentucky’s biggest recruiting priorities in the 2025 class and was also on campus for an official visit as he prepares to make his college decision in early November. To help was five-star commit, Malachi Moreno.
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While Moreno couldn’t make it to Big Blue Madness, he was able to meet with Lewis during his visit on Thursday and even took part in his photo shoot, as the pair posed together in Kentucky uniforms in Rupp Arena.
It helps to have a five-star commit just down the road to help recruit. Could we see the pair play together next season at Kentucky? Things are trending in that direction, but time will tell.
When Mark Pope was first hired by Kentucky in April, the biggest concern was if he could recruit. Within weeks, he assembled a staff and recruited the fifth-ranked transfer portal, including the likes of Jaxson Robinson, Amari Williams, and Lamont Butler.
Now nearly six months later, Pope has gotten some big high school recruiting victories, receiving commitments from five-star prospects Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson. While early, the Cats currently have a top-five class for 2025 and are the only program with multiple five-star commitments. Still going after multiple top names, the class is far from finished. In fact, another commitment may be on the horizon.
In an interview with the Sources Say Podcast, talking about his recruiting, Pope said that is currently in a chess match for one recruit.
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“Recently, in the fall — I can’t name names, but we’re trying all kinds of different things,” Pope said. “I’m a terrible, terrible chess player, but I love doing it. I do have one intense chess match on the board with a recruit that is for a commitment.”
“We’ll see if that comes to fruition. We’ll see. Details to come.”
Who could this player be? The Wildcats are still pursuing multiple five-star targets, but Pope’s comments are likely about Acaden Lewis or Caleb Wilson.
The former, a four-star combo guard, is expected to make a decision in early November, and will be in town for Big Blue Madness this Friday. The latter, a unanimous top-10 prospect, has been rumored to move his timeline up as well, however, there have been conflicting reports.
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