Kentucky coach John Calipari said Monday that five-star recruit Shaedon Sharpe won’t play this season.
The 18-year-old freshman, ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2022 by the 247Sports composite, enrolled early with the Wildcats in January.
“After talking with Shaedon and his parents, we want to end all of the speculation by again saying that he will not play for us this season,” Calipari posted on Twitter.
“He is committed to bettering himself and our team in practice this year and being better prepared to lead us next season.”
Sharpe, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Dream City Christian School in Glendale, Ariz., chose Kentucky over Kansas, Arizona, Oklahoma State and the NBA G League.
A native of Canada, Sharpe averaged 22.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists in the Nike EYBL circuit last summer.
Sharpe turns 19 on May 30 and will be one NBA season removed from his high school graduation, making him eligible to apply for the 2022 NBA Draft.
The fifth-ranked Wildcats (19-4, 8-2 SEC) next play Tuesday night at South Carolina.
–Field Level Media