NBA Draft Profile: Shaedon Sharpe

Kentucky Wildcats guard Shaedon Sharpe watches warmups from the bench

By Nick Brinkerhoff

 

Much like unwrapping presents on a holiday morning, drafting in professional sports is one great big unknown. You grab the present, maybe give it a shake or two and then unwrap. Is it good? Is it bad? Is it something you’ll use or not? That’s the NBA Draft and exactly what teams will do Thursday night. Whichever team selects Kentucky guard Shaedon Sharpe, they will end up with an ultimate boom or bust pick. Will he be great? WIll he be out of the league in three years? The exciting, or terrifying, thing about Sharpe is that no one really knows how it will go. 

 

Background: The 6-6, 200 pound guard is only 19 years old, but the biggest issue when it comes to projecting Sharpe at the next level is because of his lack of experience in college basketball. Sharpe committed to playing for coach John Calipari at Kentucky, even enrolling early, allowing him to get familiar and practice with the team a year in advance. While many people would probably assume he missed his freshman year because of injury, that is not the case. Sharpe decided to sit out the year at Kentucky, electing to not play in a single game as a Wildcat. It was a shocking decision that could set a precedent should he be drafted early as many assume he will. We have not seen the Canadian play since his final days as a high school student, but Sharpe is draft eligible due to the NBA’s rule that a player must be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school. Sharpe fits both of those qualifications and will most likely hear his name within the top 5-8 picks on Thursday night. 

 

Strengths: Sharpe is a capable scorer that can make an impact whether he has the ball in his hands or not. His athleticism will jump off the screen and that natural ability will make teams fall in love with him. There is no doubt that his sheer talent would’ve made him under consideration for the number one pick, if he had any college games on film for scouts to watch. 

 

Weaknesses: it’s said that Sharpe could develop his offensive game more, especially as a playmaker. It is also said that his defense could use some more work as well. However, the most obvious weakness to Sharpe’s game is the fact that he is now a year removed from high school, where the talent isn’t even at the college game’s level. Teams will have to weigh that heavily and project whether Sharpe would’ve been just as successful when playing against better athletes and defenses. Going from the high school level to the NBA is a transition few players have made, so it’ll be interesting to see if teams are scared off by that harsh reality. 

 

Prediction: Teams like talent. Sure, there are plenty of questions surrounding Sharpe at the professional level and whether he can make that jump, especially early in his career. He seems like a great choice for a team picking later in the top 10, after the clear cut tier one players come off the board. Let’s slot Sharpe in with the 7th pick in Thursday’s draft. Welcome to the Portland Trail Blazers, Shaedon Sharpe. 

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