By LARRY VAUGHT
Shaedon Sharpe, the top-rated recruit in the 2022 class, should arrive on the University of Kentucky campus soon now that he has reclassified and plans to join the Wildcats for the second semester.
His initial plan is to practice with the Wildcats this season and then play for coach John Calipari’s team during the 2022-23 season. However, speculation continues to grow that Sharpe could be a valuable addition to the team this year and may play once Southeastern Conference play begins.
The 6-5 Sharpe is an elite scorer and wing player. He has said he would do whatever Calipari needed this year and the UK coach has also never totally ruled out the possibility of him playing this season.
Alabama signee Brandon Miller of Nashville played against both Sharpe and Cason Wallace, another UK signee, at Peach Jam last summer. The 6-8 Miller talked to Sharpe while Miller was at Marshall County Hoopfest recently.
“Shaedon is really athletic. He can jump out of the gym and score at every level.
He’s hard to guard for anybody,” Miller said. “I believe he can help anywhere he wants to play. He’s just that type of player. If he decides to play this year, he’ll help Kentucky.
“He facilitates better than he does anything else and his vertical is probably 48 (inches) or so. It is way up there and you can’t believe it until you see it.”
Kansas signee M.J. Rice of Prolific Prep (Calif.) was also at Marshall County Hoopfest — where Sharpe was scheduled to play with Dream City Christian (Ariz.) before reclassifying — and also had high praise for Sharpe.
“He is a great player. He is very smooth with the ball and can really score,” Rice said. “He is very athletic and a really good dude from what I know about him. He will be really good at Kentucky.”
Rice prides himself on his physical play, so I asked him if he thought Sharpe would be physically ready to play against SEC competition in January.
“I would not say he is as physical as me because I am way bigger but for his size, he knows how to move and maneuver. He is a great player but not a physical player,” Rice said.
“From what I have seen, he is definitely capable of playing college basketball this year, though. He can be as good as he wants to be. I am rooting for him. I want him to eat (succeed) and I think he will.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari came to Hoopfest to watch 6-11 Yohan Traore of Dream City, who transferred from Prolific Prep this season thinking he would be playing with Sharpe at Dream City. Traore’s advisor, Daniel Ehambe, would not be surprised if Sharpe plays for UK this season.
“He’s just a special, elite athlete. Really, he’s one of a kind. I think he definitely could help Kentucky. No question at all about that to me. He’s that good,” Ehambe said.