Shaedon Sharpe will test NBA Draft waters, per report

And. Here. We. Go. As expected, Shaedon Sharpe will test the NBA Draft waters. 247 Sports’ Travis Branham is reporting that Sharpe will announce he is entering the 2022 NBA Draft but will maintain his college eligibility. His announcement could come as early as this afternoon.

Sharpe committed to Kentucky in September 2021 and reclassified to enroll early, arriving on campus in January 2022. At the time, Sharpe said his plan was to practice with the team this season and play next season. In February, John Calipari ended speculation that Sharpe would play in 2021-22 but doubled down on him being on next year’s squad. On his final radio show of the season, Calipari said he sat down with Sharpe and his family and they decided it would be in his best interest to test the NBA Draft waters to receive feedback. He is currently No. 6 in ESPN’s latest NBA Mock Draft.

“Well, we sat down and talked to him,” Calipari said on March 21. “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.”

“He’s another one, I hope I get a chance to coach him in real games,” Calipari added. “I’ve really enjoyed him in practice and enjoy him as a young person. I mean, he’s one of those guys. He’s a super talent.”

Initially, there was optimism among the staff that Sharpe would return to Kentucky for the 2022-23 season, but in the last week, that changed. Here’s what Jack Pilgrim said yesterday in our roster tracker:

Sharpe and his camp have been publicly adamant about returning to Kentucky in 2022-23 from the start. John Calipari has publicly expressed similar optimism regarding the prized signee’s return after a redshirt season in Lexington. Despite clear and strong skepticism in national basketball circles, the school had remained hopeful — if not cautiously optimistic — Sharpe would ultimately decide to turn down the draft and play for Kentucky next season.

As of last week, Sharpe hadn’t formally begun the draft paperwork process and he hasn’t made it clear he’s leaving, but internal confidence has taken a hit. There were questions regarding his draft stock and still some speculation about his eligibility, keeping the door open for a return. That door remains cracked ever-so-slightly — “never say never,” as one source inside the program put it — but contingency plans are being worked on. Kentucky is exploring its portal options on the wing in the growing chance Sharpe leaves for the draft.

If Sharpe and his camp don’t like what they hear during the pre-draft process — a grade outside the top 10, specifically — a return is on the table. But the growing expectation is that — despite a limited sample size of live game film — a team will ultimately be willing to swing for the fences on Sharpe’s star potential in the early picks of the draft, leading to his departure.

Draft buzz is strong and continues to ramp up.

The deadline for players to take their name out of the NBA Draft to return to school is June 1. The NBA Draft Combine, which Sharpe will surely be invited to, is May 16-22.

Now, we wait.