Shaedon Sharpe becomes first international student with NIL deal

According to Front Office Sports, Kentucky shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe has signed his first NIL deal. It comes with sneaker company, SoleSavy, and a bit of history as well.

According to SoleSavy, Sharpe is now the first international student to lock in a NIL deal. Being from London, Ontario, originally, Sharpe played his freshman season in Canada. He finished out his high school career in the states of Kansas and Arizona.

Sharpe was originally a member of the 2022 recruiting class but reclassified and enrolled at Kentucky a year early. According to the On3 Consensus, the shooting guard was still the No. 2 overall player in the country, just behind Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren.

John Calipari addresses not playing Shaedon Sharpe

Despite being eligible to play for John Calipari, Sharpe has not seen the court yet this season. Despite losing two guards against Auburn is a road loss, the head coach said it would not have been fair if he played Sharpe in the hostile crowd.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t have been fair to the kid,” Calipari said about potentially playing Sharpe, via KSR’s Tyler Thompson. “I just wish we had a bunch of practice time where I had two weeks with him…I have told his parents I’m not going to put him in a position where he hurts himself. I’m just not”

Kentucky was in desperate need of guard production after fellow freshman TyTy Washington left the game with a left akle injury during the first half. Matters became worse for a short stretch during the second half when starting point guard Sahvir Wheeler headed to the locker room after a hard screen.

The Wildcats were left with Kellen Grady and Davion Mintz on the floor until Wheeler made his way back, but ultimately fell against No. 2 Auburn. Whether or not Sharpe could have provided enough boost to swing the balance will remain a mystery.

2022 NBA Draft possibility for early enrollee

Kentucky early-enrollee Shaedon Sharpe is eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. He is a former class of 2022 prospect who arrived in Lexington for the spring semester and became the No. 2 prospect in On3’s 2021 rankings.

Shaedon Sharpe’s birthday falls on May 30, meeting the NBA’s age requirement for the upcoming draft. The league requires all early-entry candidates to reach age 19 and be one season removed from high school graduation.

While he has not yet appeared for the Wildcats, the report suggests that one semester will fulfill the requirement and make him a top prospect in the 2022 NBA Draft rather than 2023.