John Calipari makes bold proclamation on Shaedon Sharpe, discusses NBA potential and draft status

Shaedon Sharpe, the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, was officially ruled out for the remainder of his true freshman season on Monday, as John Calipari elected to save him for his potential return to Kentucky next 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 Monday in a tweet. “He is committed to bettering himself and our team in practice this year and being better prepared to lead us next season.”

Sharpe, an 18-year-old true freshman, graduated early from high school and decided to enroll early at Kentucky. As a result, the talented shooting guard joined the Wildcats team over winter break. But Calipari didn’t feel like he was ready to make his in-game debut.

In somewhat surprising news, Sharpe — who turns 19 in May — was recently declared eligible for the NBA Draft. Had Sharpe not graduated early from high school, he would have enrolled in Kentucky next season and would be eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft; however, despite enrolling halfway through the academic year, he could still leave Kentucky for the NBA after this season. Calipari remains confident that he won’t leave, though, and that he’ll stay another year at Kentucky.

“I had talked to the family and Shaedon and we talked it over,” Calipari said, via Kentucky Sports Radio. “I said, ‘Has anything changed?’ I said, ‘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 (a year early) to practice, to sit out, and get ready for the following year.’ And I said, ‘Well, has it changed?’ I said, ‘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. 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.”

It was some high praise from Calipari, who believes that Sharpe returning would certainly be in his best interests in terms of playing at the next level. His recruiting rankings would certainly support a lottery-pick status: Sharpe was a five-star recruit via the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

“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,” Calipari said. “Going through the gauntlet at Kentucky gets you ready to succeed. His family knows it. He 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. But he’s a great kid. I love coaching this kid. I do. Love coaching him.”

But Sharpe could still opt to test the waters in the 2022 NBA Draft. Should he choose to declare without an agent, he could retain eligibility and return to Kentucky next year. If he does sign an agent, however, he won’t be able to return. Although Calipari is planning on having Sharpe back next season, he said that he’d understand if the talented freshman wanted to test the waters.

“We haven’t gone that far but I don’t see any reason not to but again, if someone in this draft would take him No. 1, 2, 3, say, well, we’ll take him No. 5. If someone guarantees me that they’re going to do it — and they won’t lie because I won’t let them back in our gym — so if someone is saying we’re going to do this, then you’ve got to sit down and talk,” Calipari continued. “And I’m never — will he test the waters? He may not. He may say, ‘Coach, I am not ready.’ I can remember players where I said, are you think about, why wouldn’t you go and you could be drafted in this. ‘I’m not ready. I’m not ready.’ So, we don’t know yet.”