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John Calipari emphatically says Shaedon Sharpe could be No. 1 pick in 2023 NBA Draft
By Adam Spencer
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John Calipari made headlines this week when he said highly touted freshman Shaedon Sharpe, who joined the Kentucky basketball squad at the start of the spring semester, wouldn’t suit up for the Wildcats this year.
Sharpe is getting some projections as a potential top-10 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, so it’s possible he leaves Kentucky without ever touching the court during an actual game.
But, on Tuesday, Coach Cal emphatically explained that Sharpe could be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft if he returns to school next year:
Calipari says if Shaedon Sharpe comes back to Kentucky he'll be the #1 Draft Pick in 2023. @WHAS11 pic.twitter.com/mMcf8hOzUc
— Kent Spencer (@WHAS11Kent) February 9, 2022
“This kid comes back, he’s the No. 1 draft pick, in my mind,” Calipari said. “He’s the No. 1 draft pick. How can I say I know what a No. 1 draft pick looks like? Because I’ve had 4! That’s why I can say what it looks like. He could be the No. 1 draft pick.”
Who were those 4 No. 1 picks, you ask? They were Karl-Anthony Towns (2015), Anthony Davis (2012), John Wall (2010) and Derrick Rose (2008). Sharpe would join some pretty impressive company if he became the fifth player in that group.
We’ll find out what he decides to do this offseason, but the lure of being a lottery pick in 2022 might be too much for him to pass up.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 14 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.