Tyler Sharpe Recruiting Report (2016)
Louisville wants 2016 guard Tyler Sharpe to join. “U of L has offered him preferred walk-on status,” said Bullitt East High School Coach Bob Blackburn. For a young man from just a few miles outside I-265, this is the equivalent of…
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Continue ReadingLouisville wants 2016 guard Tyler Sharpe to join.
“U of L has offered him preferred walk-on status,” said Bullitt East High School Coach Bob Blackburn.
For a young man from just a few miles outside I-265, this is the equivalent of the mother ship calling him home. Is there a more honorable invitation available to a high school basketball player raised in northwest Kentucky?
“He has taken visits to schools in Indiana and Tennessee and Missouri,” said Coach Blackburn. “He has had a slew of visits. It is either take a scholarship at a D2, or going ahead and doing the U of L route.”
A preferred walk-on is basically what it sounds like. If Sharpe accepts, he and his family will pay the cost of tuition, the cost of living, and he will be welcome to practice/play with the basketball team in the hopes of one day earning a full scholarship.
It is a gamble, but the worse case scenario still has Sharpe suiting up with the Cardinals.
“He wants to be challenged,” said Coach Blackburn. “He wants to be challenged and U of L plays at the highest level.”
Interestingly, Southeast Missouri has also offered Sharpe the same deal. He could walk-on to the Cape Girardeau campus too. Head Coach Rick Ray will be entering his second full season.
“They contact me the most and I like them a lot,” said Sharpe. “Coach Ray handles his team. He is re-inventing how they do things. They started off a little slow this year. I think they turned it on a little towards the end.”
It was a turbulent year (5-24) in the cape. Coach Ray is restructuring the team and that means several scholarship players were asked to leave mid-season. Most of January and February the team played with an extremely thin bench.
If Sharpe picks SeMo he will be an integral part of the rebuilding process.
“They are seven hours a way,” said Sharpe.
Distance is important, but SeMo is not too far. He is considering them along with Louisville and several nearby D2 schools.
“I try to keep up with all the teams that contact me,” said Sharpe. “It is going to come down to what me and my family decide on.”
Sharpe Offers
Tyler is not backed into a corner. Louisville is a good option, but not the only one. He could elect to play Division II basketball. A handful of regional D2 outfits have offered.
“I have an offer from Marian (Indy), Trevecca Nazarene in Nashville, and Pikeville (KY),” said Sharpe.
According to Coach Blackburn, Sharpe took visits to both Marian and Trevecca.
“(Trevecca) is very nice,” said Sharpe. “It is about 3 miles away of downtown Nashville. It has small town feel with the big town nearby.”
Sharpe sees a window for him to succeed at Trevecca.
“They lose a couple seniors this year, so they are looking for a couple guards to come in and contribute early,” said Sharpe.
Competition for playing time will be very stiff at Louisville, but the opportunity is fascinating to Sharpe.
Louisville seems like a great choice, but there is nothing finalized. The only thing Sharpe has narrowed is the decision timeframe.
“It depends on how I feel about the fit,” said Sharpe of the Louisville option. “You have a chance to earn a scholarship. I am going to start wrapping it up in the next couple of weeks to a month.”