clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

John Calipari on why Shaedon Sharpe won’t play this season and impending NBA Draft decision

And what Sharpe has to gain by coming back next season.

Shaedon Sharpe. Bryce Hopkins. Isamu Haynes-Sunayama - Sea of Blue

The Shaedon Sharpe circus ended Monday when John Calipari announced the star mid-year enrollee would not play this season for the Kentucky Wildcats.

“After talking with Shaedon and his parents, we want to end the speculation by again saying that he will not play for us this season,” Calipari said in a tweet.

Tonight, Calipari explained why he and Sharpe’s family finally decided the Canadian stud wasn’t going to suit up this season for Kentucky.

While the national consensus is that Sharpe will ultimately leave for the 2022 NBA Draft, Calipari made the case for why that should not be the assumption: If Sharpe comes back, he can be the No. 1 overall pick in 2023.

And Cal would know, obviously.

“How do I know he’s a No. 1 pick? Because I’ve had four of them!” Calipari stated in the postgame presser following Kentucky’s win at South Carolina.

Calipari also said there haven’t been any discussions yet on if Sharpe should test the NBA Draft waters this year, but did admit it is at least worth considering.

You can see Calipari’s full postgame remarks on Sharpe below.

And be sure to go ‘like’ our Facebook page and follow our Twitter page to get all of the latest UK news and views.