The Shaedon Sharpe/Jaden Hardy dichotomy
Eleven months ago, Shaedon Sharpe emerged as the No. 1 prospect in the 2022 high school class. Jaden Hardy, rated as the best guard in the 2021 class, was being projected as a top-three pick in the NBA draft.
Since then, Sharpe enrolled early at Kentucky and didn't play a minute of college basketball, while Hardy went the G League Ignite route and averaged 19.8 points on inefficient shooting: 42.2% from 2, 31.7% from 3.
Sharpe went No. 7 on Thursday; Hardy at No. 37.
Sharpe is the better prospect -- there's very little debate about that -- but a 30-pick gap?
"People are going to be as creative as possible to protect their draft status," one college coach said. "You go somewhere and don't play and go seventh, you go somewhere and do play and go 37th? I hope the model of going to school and not playing doesn't take hold. As a basketball fan, I think you want to see these guys play."
Focusing on Sharpe, the last time most coaches saw him play was at last summer's Peach Jam, when he averaged 22.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and was generally the most dominant player every time he stepped on the floor. Going inside the top 10 despite being the draft's mystery man was completely warranted according to coaches -- and seventh might have been low.
"His explosiveness stands out," one coach said. "He really has pop off the floor. He spent the better part of the last year really honing the rough edges in his game [in practice], smoothing out the rough edges in his game ... as a jump-shooter, in terms of his ability to play in the pick-and-roll game. Early on in his career ... he was more of a wing athlete. Heading into last summer with UPlay and then throughout the year at Kentucky, he smoothed out his off-the-dribble game, got more shot-creation."
Sharpe wasn't a bad shooter last summer, making 36.1% of his 3-pointers and 67.4% of his free throw attempts. But it was an area to improve upon.
"He needs to become a more consistent shooter," one coach who scouted him last summer said. "The feedback is he's improved in that area. He's got pretty good shot mechanics, it's been the focus of his skill development program for the last year or so. I would anticipate he's a better shooter than the last time we saw him on a big stage at the Peach Jam. ... If he can get to the point where he can be a pick-and-roll player, make high-level passing reads, his game can evolve. If he's playing off his athleticism and is a transition player, he can be solid as well, but how he gets himself into the upper echelon of young guards is determined by whether or not he becomes more complete with the ball in his hands."
As for Hardy, the
Dallas Mavericks might have gotten a steal in the second round. Despite his G League struggles, Hardy is still considered one of the elite scorers in the draft class.
"I think he's really good," one coach said. "I think Hardy might be more skilled than Shaedon Sharpe. Sharpe is bigger and more explosive, but in terms of skill level with ball in his hands and ability to create shots and the potential to get buckets, I would say Hardy is either equal or potentially further along. Jaden Hardy -- as a young player playing against older, more experienced players [in the G League] -- struggled with efficiency and consistency. Depending on the sort of opportunity he has early on, could really outplay his draft status."
