The Shaedon Sharpe Dilemma Finally Comes To An End With Him Going Pro And It Was A Failure/Risk That Kentucky Had To Take

And there it is. The Shaedon Sharpe dilemma that lasted basically 5 months is finally over. Sharpe enrolled at UK in the middle of the season with expectation of him not playing last year, coming back to school and playing this upcoming season. It was that way because it was reported he didn't graduate high school in time and wouldn't be draft eligible. 

That all changed right around the beginning of February. It was reported he was eligible for this upcoming Draft yet still wouldn't play. That's the risk with a guy like Sharpe - the top recruit and a projected top-10 pick. What are you supposed to do when he's not going to play in mid-February so his draft stock remains? If Sharpe truly didn't want to play, Cal can't play him. That's not even a Cal thing, that's just an any coach thing. 

Yet somehow this all keeps getting weirder and harder to blame Kentucky for what happened:

Now if Cal was protecting him and Sharpe wanted to play, then you blame Cal. But let's be honest, why would Sharpe play? He's projected top-10 without stepping on the floor. If he steps on the floor that late in the year he won't elevate his stock, only hurt it. That's just the nature of the beast. Sure I would have loved to have Sharpe out there, especially with the off guards struggling late in the year. 

The biggest mistake Calipari made was saying that the plan was for Sharpe to come back next year, even when it was announced he was draft eligible. Just stay quiet on that and say that Sharpe will make his decision when he has to. That takes off all the pressure and nobody would blame Sharpe or anyone involved. It was the promise that eventually led to this freakout - which is whatever. 

Now it comes to replacing Sharpe. You look at likely landing Antonio Reeves from the transfer portal. Then it's trying to get Leonard Miller, a 5-star who is down to Kentucky, Arizona and the G League. And you need to get one more shooter. Whether that's a stretch four or a wing, you need one more for sure. 

Welcome to big time college basketball, folks. This ain't the first or last time something like this will happen. 

PS: He has to be a New York Knick now. Rules are rules.