Report: Kentucky star Shaedon Sharpe makes decision on NBA Draft

Shaedon Sharpe had made his decision on his basketball future, as Shams Charania of The Athletic revealed on Thursday that the star Kentucky guard will be declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft.

“Kentucky freshman Shaedon Sharpe will declare for the 2022 NBA Draft, and stay in, team sources tell me and @KyleTucker_ATH,” tweeted Charania. “NBA teams project Sharpe as a potential high draft lottery pick.”

Moreover, Shaedon Sharpe was originally recruited as part of the 2022 recruiting class, but re-classified to the class of 2021 and enrolled in January. Still, he ended up as the No. 4 recruit in the nation, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Kentucky coach John Calipari decided not to play him at all, even in the NCAA Tournament, where the No. 2-seeded Wildcats lost to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s in the first round.

“At one point, he and I sat down and talked about it,” Calipari said. “But I think that was best for him, how we did it. Would he have been a good player? He’d have been pretty good but he joined us midseason.”

The rules require Sharpe to be at least a year out of high school before declaring for the draft, meaning he’s able to enter the 2022 NBA Draft, even without official college experience. Calipari sounded like he was preparing for Sharpe to enter the draft, but still held out hope about a potential return.

“Well, we sat down and talked to him,” Calipari said on his final radio show, via KSR’s Jack Pilgrim. “You know, I talked to him and I talked to his mom and dad. I think he’s got to explore, but he’s got to 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, or where people are saying?’

“As you go through the process, this information comes back from the NBA. Not an agent or anybody else around you, it comes from the NBA. You have a better idea of what everything is. And until these kids all get that information, it’s hard.”

Evidently, Shaedon Sharpe liked what he heard, as the star guard will be leaving Kentucky before ever playing a game for the Wildcats.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.