Kentucky Basketball: Wildcats’ projected starting lineup for 2022-2023

Players leaving Kentucky

It’s normal for even the best basketball programs to lose some of their best athletes to either the NBA draft or to the transfer portal. So, for Kentucky, who is leaving and why?

TyTy Washington Jr.

Washington will likely be a first-round lottery pick in the 2022 Draft. The 6-foot-3 point guard had an up and down season with nagging injuries, but that did not stop him from averaging 12.5 points and 3.9 assists per game, which is second in both categories.

With a rap sheet like Washington’s and season-long injuries, it’s likely he throws the towel in and  takes the life-changing opportunity to enter the draft.,

Shaedon Sharpe

Sharpe was the centerpiece for the No.1 recruiting class and arrived at Kentucky sooner than expected, finishing high school early and enrolling for the spring semester. Sharpe is A projected, top-10 pick for the 2022 NBA Draft, even though he never suited up for the Wildcats.

The question stands, whether Sharpe is going to declare for the draft or return to Lexington to suit up and learn under Calipari.

Sharpe has the opportunity to profit off of his name, image, and likeness as a star at Kentucky, and potentially drive his draft stock higher for the 2023 NBA draft. But he’s already projected to go very high and he might be more inclined to strike while the iron is hot.

Oscar Tshiebwe

Tshiebwe has a decision to make.  He has the potential of going late in the first round or early second-round, of the NBA Draft which could be changed if he were to stay an additional year.

The National Player of the Year averaged 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds per game and could boost or hurt his draft stock, depending on how we look at it. If Tshiebwe were to stay another season, there is the possibility of injury but he could also diversify his game. However, he’s already a fairly old prospect at 22 and it seems more likely he may try to jump in.