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UPDATE
According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Shaedon Sharpe will not be eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft.
The NBA CBA specifies pretty clearly that to be NBA Draft-eligible both: The player (A) is or will be at least 19 years of age during the calendar year in which the Draft is held, AND (B)...at least one (1) NBA Season has elapsed since the player’s graduation from high school. https://t.co/LJodDM9qRN
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) November 9, 2021
So for now at least, there’s no concern about Sharpe leaving early and becoming part of the 2022 draft.
It’s official. Shaedon Sharpe, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2022 class, will enroll early and join the Kentucky Wildcats for the second semester this season, he announced Tuesday.
The plan is for Sharpe to train this season with the team but not play in games, though he did say he’ll do whatever the team needs of him.
Sharpe also announced he will, “100% be at Kentucky next season.”
it’s #bbn see y’all soon. ⚪️ #mytoolbox pic.twitter.com/bJ5Z0E1OvR
— Shaedon Sharpe (@ShaedonSharpe) November 9, 2021
Weighing in at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, Sharpe hails from London, Ontario and becomes the latest Canadian to play for the Cats, joining the likes of Jamal Murray, Mychal Mulder, Trey Lyles and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander among others.
Sharpe currently plays at Dream Christian in Glendale (AZ) and committed to Kentucky back in September over Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma State, and the NBA G-League.
247 Sports’ Travis Branham, who originally broke the news in October that Sharpe would enroll early, says there are still questions as to if Sharpe will be eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft.
There still are question marks surrounding Shaedon Sharpe's Draft Eligibility in 2022.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) November 9, 2021
Sharpe graduated in the winter during his 5th year of high school, and will turn 19 in May, but would likely need the NBA to make a ruling whether or not he’s eligible for the NBA Draft.
Not long after the news initially broke last month, KSR’s Jack Pilgrim reported that Sharpe was not eligible for the 2022 draft.
“He (Sharpe) wants to be challenged, he wants to get better,” a source told Pilgrim. “The truth is, he’s definitely playing in 2022-23 (at Kentucky). It has nothing to do with the NBA, it has everything to do with his individual development.”
That same source added that Sharpe “is not eligible” for the 2022 draft because he won’t be a full year removed from graduating.
So for now, it sounds like Sharpe will be in Lexington very soon and practicing with the Wildcats.
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