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Some roster movement has begun for the Kentucky Wildcats after a few weeks of silence across the board.
With TyTy Washington off to the NBA, and Bryce Hopkins entering into the transfer portal, there are still two big decisions that all of Big Blue Nation is waiting on.
Those are the decision of Oscar Tshiebwe and Shaedon Sharpe.
Ben Roberts of The Herald-Leader released an article updating the status of where these two decisions stand.
Let’s start with the bad news.
Sharpe and his camp have long said they will be here next season to play for Kentucky. John Calipari even echoed the same since Sharpe’s arrival on campus in January. According to Roberts the tune inside the program has now changed, and they are preparing to be without Shaedon next season.
“There has been no public announcement yet on Sharpe’s future, but Kentucky now expects that he’ll ultimately decide to enter and stay in this year’s NBA Draft, a move that would obviously be a big blow to Calipari’s plans for next season,” Roberts wrote.
Sharpe is currently projected as a top-10selection in the upcoming NBA Draft. With no announcement yet, the days are dwindling down to the April 24th deadline to enter his name into the draft. Fans should expect to see that soon while also expecting Sharpe to not be in Lexington this fall.
Now for the good news.
Oscar Tshiebwe has become a fan-favorite and would revitalize this fanbase once again if he does decide to return.
According to Roberts, UK is expecting Oscar to be back in Lexington next season.
“No formal announcements have been made regarding the reigning national player of the year, but the Herald-Leader was told last week that UK is expecting him to return for another season,” Roberts said.
There’s also this from Andrew Slater, who is very rarely wrong with his predictions.
There will be a song and dance, but you should expect the defending National POY to return to the Commonwealth. He’s more impactful than any incoming recruit. https://t.co/xkaYg1mD0U
— ℯ ℯ (@Andrew__Slater) April 11, 2022
Oscar is currently a projected second-round draft pick, with some thinking he could slide into one of the final few picks of the first round.
This choice will come down to the NIL situation for the reigning National Player of the Year. If that can be resolved, then it seems like all signs point to him returning for another season. If it isn’t, he might take his talents to the league.
A couple of big decisions will be announced here in the coming weeks. Now we just have to wait and see what they are.
You can check out the rest of Ben Robert’s article, and get an update on other players decisions here.