After playing his way to the top of multiple 2022 player rankings this summer, Canadian guard Shaedon Sharpe will visit Arizona this weekend.
A 6-foot-5-inch guard from London, Ontario, who now plays for Glendale Dream City, Sharpe is expected to choose Kentucky over Arizona and the G League. But the fact that heβs taking an official visit to Arizona this weekend, while cancelling planned visits to Kansas and Oklahoma State, is a sign he still has significant interest in the Tucson-based Wildcats.
In an Aug. 8 story posted to ESPNβs website, Sharpe said he would make a decision in consultation with Dwayne Washington, the director of his travel club, Uplay Canada, shortly after finishing his visits.
βIβm 100% open to all options right now,β Sharpe told ESPN. βI want to see what all of them have to offer. I need to learn more about the G League in terms of what their offer is and which other players will be on the team to decide whether thatβs something I want to do. People have been penciling me in with Kentucky, and Iβm honestly not sure where thatβs coming from.
βMaybe itβs because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went there from Uplay and was one and done. Itβs true they were the only official visit Iβve taken so far, because all the other schools asked to wait until students were back on campus and football games were being played. No one really knows anything about my situation besides my family and Dwayne.β
While Sharpe has been weighing his options, his stock has continued to increase.
According to Rivals.com, Sharpe averaged 21.6 points per game on 44.4% 3-point shooting during the first week and 24 points, 6.6 rebounds, and three assists on 47.5% 3-point shooting while playing for Uplay Canada. His 21.6 points-per-game average ranked third overall in the event.
Afterward, Rivals.com placed Sharpe atop its 2022 player rankings.
Ranking Sharpe No. 1 is “not really a question in my mind because of the smooth way he creates and makes shooting opportunities,” Rivals.com analyst Jamie Shaw wrote. “Sharpe has a natural explosion with a handle that gets him to his spots, and the ability to pull up from 28 feet. … It is easy to see his game translate from level to level, and it showed against the nation’s best.”
Shaedon Sharpe canceled planned visits to Kansas and Oklahoma State.
Rivals.com recruiting director Rob Cassidy wrote that Sharpe’s Peach Jam performance “put an exclamation point on a massive grassroots season,” justifying the move up the rankings.
βHe boasts a tight handle, a quick jumper and defends relatively well positionally,β Cassidy wrote. βBut itβs his explosiveness and ability to get to the bucket that makes him special.β
ESPN analyst Jonathan Givony noted that Sharpe was βalmost a complete unknown a year agoβ before his fast rise this summer.
βAlways noted for his NBA prototype frame and highlight-reel-caliber dunks and blocks, Sharpe ramped up his aggressiveness substantially the past few months, while showing significant improvement as a passer, creator and shooter in the half-court,β Givony wrote.
Sharpe told ESPN the difference was that Uplay Canada put him in a position to make plays and showcase himself on the EYBL circuit, which concludes in the Peach Jam.
While Sharpe is ranked No. 6 in 247Sports.com rankings, Hoop Seen and On3 have also moved him into the No. 1 spot for the class of 2022.
βHeβs one of the best athletes Iβve ever covered,β tweeted Justin Young, analyst and editor of Hoop Seen. βWhat a year itβs been for him.β
On July 28, Sharpe posted a top 10 of Kentucky, Arizona, Oklahoma, Oregon, Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma State, USC, Texas and ASU. Ten days later, he announced a top five of Arizona, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Kansas and the G League.
Sharpe is one of only four players the Wildcats have offered scholarships to players in the class of 2022, along with guard Jaden Bradley of Rochester, New York, and IMG Academy; Collin Chandler of Farmington, Utah; and Gilbert Perry High School forward Dylan Anderson.
Anderson committed to the Wildcats in April and then visited UA for the second time in June, and Bradley and Chandler also visited later in the month. Bradley has also visited Michigan, Alabama and North Carolina.
Chandler has visited Stanford, BYU and Utah, and told 247Sports.com he is planning to visit Arizona on Oct. 2, when the Wildcats’ Red-Blue Game will be held. Chandler told 247Sports.com he is also planning to visit Stanford and Utah this fall, while Gonzaga has also offered him a scholarship.
“They have been awesome since they have gotten involved,” Chandler told 247Sports.com about Arizona. “They really think I am a fit there and have done a great job of keeping in touch with me and my family. The new staff is looking to keep the tradition going of being one of the best programs in the country.”
