Shaedon Sharpe, TyTy Washington are top-10 picks in ESPN mock draft

Kentucky has two top-ten picks in the latest 2022 ESPN mock draft, with one of those players not playing a single minute of college basketball. With just 11 games to go in the regular season, Shaedon Sharpe is UK’s highest-rated potential draft selection, with ESPN projecting him to go No. 7 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans. From there, TyTy Washington is projected to be selected No. 9 overall by the Washington Wizards.

Sharpe and Washington are the only two Kentucky players listed in the 58-man mock draft. This would leave the likes of Oscar Tshiebwe, Sahvir Wheeler, Keion Brooks Jr., Daimion Collins, Bryce Hopkins, Lance Ware, Dontaie Allen and CJ Fredrick all projected to go undrafted with the option of returning to school.

Kellan Grady and Davion Mintz have exhausted the entirety of their NCAA eligibility, with their professional basketball clocks starting at the conclusion of the season regardless.

Jonathan Givony’s 2022 draft order is based on ESPN BPI projections as of Monday.

1. Orlando Magic – Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga)
2. Detroit Pistons – Paolo Banchero (Duke)
3. Houston Rockets – Jabari Smith (Auburn)
4. Oklahoma City Thunder – Jalen Duren (Memphis)
5. Sacramento Kings – Jaden Ivey (Purdue)
6. San Antonio Spurs – Keegan Murray (Iowa)
7. New Orleans Pelicans – Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky)
8. Indiana Pacers – Johnny Davis (Wisconsin)
9. Washington Wizards – TyTy Washington Jr. (Kentucky)
10. Atlanta Hawks – Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona)
11. New York Knicks – A.J. Griffin (Duke)
12. Portland Trail Blazers – Ochai Agbaji (Kansas)
13. Memphis Grizzlies – Jean Montero (Overtime Elite)
14. Toronto Raptors – MarJon Beauchamp (G League Ignite)
15. Oklahoma City Thunder – Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Milwaukee)
16. Minnesota Timberwolves – Dyson Daniels (G League Ignite)
17. Boston Celtics – Jaden Hardy (G League Ignite)
18. Chicago Bulls – Trevor Keels (Duke)
19. Denver Nuggets – Kendall Brown (Baylor)
20. Atlanta Hawks – JD Davison (Alabama)
21. Houston Rockets – Blake Wesley (Notre Dame)
22. Dallas Mavericks – Nikola Jovic (Mega Mozzart)
23. Philadelphia 76ers – Mark Williams (Duke)
24. Cleveland Cavaliers – E.J. Liddell (Ohio State)
25. Milwaukee Bucks – Kennedy Chandler (Tennessee)
26. Memphis Grizzlies – Ousmane Dieng (NZ Breakers)
27. Memphis Grizzlies – Hugo Besson (NZ Breakers)
28. Miami Heat – Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke)
29. Golden State Warriors – Christian Braun (Kansas)
30. Oklahoma City Thunder – Walker Kessler (Auburn)

Givony highlighted Washington in his post-mock roundup, saying the Kentucky freshman is “making a case for not only SEC freshman of the year consideration, but also potentially conference player of the year honors.”

“Washington’s outstanding play has moved him firmly into our top 10 and gives him a chance to be the first guard picked on draft night after Jaden Ivey,” Givony wrote. “NBA scouts say they still have some question marks about just how much star power he has to offer and what the extent of his long-term upside is due to his age (20, older than sophomores Ivey and Johnny Davis) and average explosiveness, but his game and especially his size and versatility as a passer and scorer who can play either guard spot is undoubtedly tailor-made for the modern NBA.”

Elsewhere, Washington is projected as the No. 10 overall pick in Sam Vecenie’s 2022 NBA Draft Big Board 2.0 over at The Athletic. As for Sharpe, the outlet says it is holding off on including the Kentucky freshman until it receives ” more clarity on his eligibility for the 2022 draft.”

We also get our first appearance for Tshiebwe in The Athletic’s update, with Vecenie listing the Kentucky center at No. 74 overall in the top 100.

For the complete draft rankings, you can find ESPN’s here and The Athletic’s here.