A weekly update on digital sports news and trends for the Blue Chips community.
Shaedon Sharpe officially announced that he will be keeping his name in the 2022 NBA Draft. While this will disappoint many of the Big Blue Nation, Sharpe is a consensus projected Top 10 Pick, with some projections as high as 4th. We would have loved to see Shaedon suit up in Rupp Arena, however, we wish him the best in all his future endeavors.
More news from Lance Ware and Kareem Watkins on their outreach trip to Brazil. Their team won another game 82-65, in which Lance racked up 31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 assists. If this is any indication of the jump he can make for next season, then we should be in very good shape in the frontcourt.
Kentucky’s new strength coordinator Braden Welsh says he plans to tap into the UK Sports Medicine Research Institute as one of the focal points of his new training plans. That program focuses on injury prevention and performance optimization – a brilliant move that will help the Wildcats challenge for the best team in the country.
Keion Brooks Jr announced that he would be withdrawing from the 2022 NBA Draft and returning to college for his senior season. Brooks is in the transfer portal and is expected to pick between Notre Dame, Arizona, and Washington. An earlier report suggested that Keion would be open to withdrawing from the portal and returning to Kentucky, however, most would consider that highly unlikely.
And finally, some interesting news from sources close to the program about the search for the vacant assistant spot on the Kentucky staff. We have learned that UK reached out to a current NBA Assistant and a current NBA Player about the 3rd coaching spot. No specific names have been listed as of yet. Cal hinted that he would be getting a “splash hire”, and pulling anyone from the pros would certainly fit that description.
Photo Credit: UK Athletics – https://ukathletics.com/news/2022/5/15/mens-basketball-lance-ware-kareem-watkins-traveling-to-brazil-with-sports-reach.aspx
