John Calipari says Shaedon Sharpe "plans on being (at UK) next year"

Nothing has changed regarding Shaedon Sharpe’s future at Kentucky and the plan John Calipari has for him in Lexington.

Despite confirmation that Sharpe has met the age and academic requirements to be eligible for the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft, the Kentucky head coach said Friday that the five-star guard is planning to be a Wildcat through the 2022-23 season.

At this point, draft status is irrelevant.

“No, it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t,” Calipari said. “He plans on being here next year.”

On Thursday, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony broke the news that Sharpe had sufficient credits to graduate from high school before the start of the NBA season in October. League rules state draft-eligible prospects must be one full NBA season removed from high school and at least 19 years of age the year of the draft. Sharpe now checks both of those boxes, as he will also turn 19 in May.

As for his playing status for this season, Calipari doubled down that Sharpe will take the floor when he’s ready, whether that’s this year or next. Until then, he’s practicing and working toward getting in game shape.

“He’s watching,” Calipari added. “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.”

It falls in line with what the UK head coach said about Sharpe last week, praising the five-star guard’s skill and shot-making ability, but adding that he’s still adjusting to the speed and pace of the college game.

“If he’s not ready to play, I would not put him out there,” Calipari said last week. “… You can’t do that to the kid — unless he’s ready. If he’s ready, I say let’s go.

“… He — pace of game [he’s] like a normal freshman. The speed, the intensity, the spirit of it, talking more, he’s way behind in those areas, but his skill set and what he does and is comfortable when you put him in different situations, he’s good there. But it’s the most important stuff, the speed of the game. The aggressiveness of the game. How hard you have to play and talk. You can’t take possessions off, you just can’t. So, he’s learning all that and we’ll learn it on the run.”

Sharpe is rated as the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2021 On3 Player Rankings. Following news of his potential draft eligibility, ESPN slotted him at No. 6 overall in the outlet’s latest draft rankings.