Kentucky freshman Shaedon Sharpe watches teammates warm up before a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022.
aslitz@herald-leader.com
Kentucky freshman Shaedon Sharpe will be eligible for the NBA Draft in 2022, according to a report from ESPN on Thursday afternoon.
Sharpe, who had been the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2022 class before deciding to enroll in classes at UK this semester, joined the Wildcats earlier this month and has been practicing with the team over the past couple of weeks.
It was originally thought that Sharpe would not be eligible to enter the NBA Draft until 2023. He will be age-eligible for this year’s draft — Sharpe turns 19 in late May — but he graduated high school after the start of the current NBA season, which — according to a strict reading of league rules — would prevent him from being eligible in 2022. A more flexible reading of that rule would allow him to apply for early entry into this year’s draft, however, and ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony reported Thursday that he will be permitted to go that route, if he chooses.
UK Coach John Calipari has left the door open for Sharpe to play for the Wildcats this season, thought he’s reiterated multiple times that the original plan was for the 6-foot-5 shooting guard to come to campus in January, practice with the team, and work on his strength and conditioning with the intent to make his college playing debut in the 2022-23 season.
Sharpe has been traveling with the team to road games and participating in pregame warmups.
The player’s mentor and grassroots basketball coach, Dwayne Washington, told the Herald-Leader recently that Sharpe was not focused on the NBA Draft and intended to play for Kentucky before going pro.
It’s unclear if the development that he will indeed be eligible for this year’s draft will alter those plans.
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