The most controversial name throughout the state of Kentucky over the last few months has sparked up some more interest this morning during his interview with an NBA team. Shaedon Sharpe conducted an interview with the Oklahoma City Thunder, in which he put out some quotes that will not sit well with Kentucky fans at all.
So, there's obviously a lot to takeaway from this response. It's apparent that he hasn't had a serious talk with anyone from a public relations office, because these reporters were able to get very needle-moving quotes from him the entire interview. To openly say you "don't regret not playing at Kentucky" when fans are very upset with the situation still is like pouring salt on an open wound. The response from fans online already shows the aggressively-growing anger towards him and he's only been off campus for a couple of weeks now. It's fine for him to feel that way, but to come out and say it might not have been right. I definitely think he should've taken the generic politician answer on that one.
In the second response in Ben Roberts tweet about the decision not to play at Kentucky, it was widely known that most of the fault was being pinned on Sharpe's trainer, Dwanye Washington, and not so much on Shaedon, his family, or Calipari. To be honest, Shaedon gets the most critisicm online, but in reality the blame fell on him the least out of everyone. He's just a 18 year old kid having his life that's managed by people wanting to control him. For him to announce that it was ultimately his decision not to play - whether it was or wasn't - probably shouldn't have been said. Most of the blame had gone away from him after news surfaced on how much control his trainer/handler had over his career and deciding to turn the blame after all of this is like begging all of the pointing fingers to come back and point towards you when you didn't have to.
Unfortunately, this is just another answer he should've had someone prepare for him ahead of time because it was obvious it was going to be asked.
Oh Lord...I don't have to say a whole lot on this take. To skip out on playing in college, leaving High School a semester early, essentially not playing an official game in nearly a year where there is now this growing mystery around your ability to play at a certain level then you take a very much conceded take with no evidence to back it up is awfully bold to do. I mean, the kid hasn't even been drafted yet. I like the confidence but sometimes you've got to know when to read the room. This was not at all the time to be talking about a greatest of all-time status.
Lastly, this response wasn't the worst, but it kind of hits back on the last point. I'm sure every college athlete planning on playing professional has the goals of being great as a pro, but when there is no footage of you playing against legitimate opponents rather than High School kids who all work 9 to 5's now makes it kind of hard for many people to hear you say that and not roll their eyes at least at this point of time where things stand. Let's just get you into a franchise first, Shaedon.
It's more apparent as time goes on that the last eight months of the Shaedon Sharpe era (are we even calling it that?) has gone off the rails, and has left a bitter taste in many people's mouths, but my ultimate takeaway from this afternoon is that the kid still to this day does not have the right people around him to advise him, and that needs to change. Yeah, he's worked himself into a top-five draft pick, but that's just based off the potential of his skills and bodily stature. Potential is a very risky attribute, but as he becomes more open to the public eye in the coming future, he needs to surround himself with people that have the best interest for him in everything and not people who are looking to gain something off his likeness. His words have a lot of power in certain regions of this country and if he wants to avoid a toxic backlash, they need to come prepared and thought out.