Jamarion Sharp
Sharp with Western Kentucky in 2022
No. 3 – Ole Miss Rebels
PositionCenter
LeagueSoutheastern Conference
Personal information
Born (2001-08-26) August 26, 2001
NationalityAmerican
Listed height7 ft 5 in (2.26 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolHopkinsville
(Hopkinsville, Kentucky)
College
Career highlights and awards

Jamarion Sharp (born August 26, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the Ole Miss of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He previously played for John A. Logan College and Western Kentucky. At 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m), he is the tallest current Division I player and is one of the tallest living humans.

Early life and high school career

Sharp was born on August 26, 2001. His father, Mario Sharp, was 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) and his mother, Shiby Watkins, was 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m).[1] He admits that "growing up, [he] didn’t love the game of basketball".[2] Sharp's future high school coach, Tim Haworth, who knew him since he was five years old, encouraged him to play.[2]

It really means a lot because growing up, I didn’t love the game of basketball, but Haworth, he made me keep getting in the gym more and more and made me start to love the game.

— Sharp explaining the influence his high school coach, Tim Haworth, had on him growing up.[2]

Sharp had a growth spurt the summer after middle school and came into Hopkinsville High School as a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) freshman.[3] He grew to 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) by his junior year and became a seven-footer as a senior.[3] He played basketball for the Tigers, where he appeared in the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen state tournament as a sophomore.[3] As a junior, he averaged a modest 2.9 points and three rebounds per game.[2] As a senior, he averaged 7.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, leading the Tigers to a 16–14 record and an 8th district semifinals appearance. He earned all-district honors and was selected to represent Team Kentucky in the 2019 Kentucky-Indiana All-Star game.[1]

Western Kentucky head coach Rick Stansbury noticed Sharp, then a junior, in February 2018 while scouting another player.[2] He caught Stansbury's attention during pre-game warm-ups but did not play in the first half.[2] After Stansbury inquired about "the big kid", Haworth worked Sharp out in front of him at halftime by having him shoot jump hooks.[3] Sharp was offered a scholarship "basically that night".[2] However, he did not meet the academic requirements to attend Western Kentucky, his dream school, out of high school.[1][2] On April 23, 2019, Sharp committed to John A. Logan College, a junior college (JUCO) in Carterville, Illinois.[4]

College career

John A. Logan

As a freshman for the John A. Logan Volunteers, Sharp was listed at 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m).[5] He averaged 5.5 points, five rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game in his first year, earning All-Great Rivers Athletic Conference (GRAC) honors.[6] While teaming with Jay Scrubb, they led the Volunteers to a 28–5 record and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time in school history.[6] On January 28, 2021, Sharp recorded 20 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks in a double-overtime victory over Three Rivers.[7] He recorded two triple-doubles in February against Kaskaskia College and Southwestern Illinois, including a season-high 12 blocks in the latter.[7] As a sophomore, Sharp averaged 7.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 blocks per game,[2] earning All-GRAC and all-region honors.[8]

Sharp was rated a four-star prospect and the top JUCO recruit in the nation by 247Sports.[1] He received offers from programs such as Arizona, Cincinnati and Oregon,[9] but committed to Western Kentucky on November 23, 2020.[6]

Western Kentucky

By the time Sharp arrived at Western Kentucky for the 2021–22 season, he had grown to 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m).[1] In his first game as a Hilltopper, an exhibition against Campbellsville, he recorded 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 17 minutes.[10] Sharp said of the experience that it was "amazing to play for [his] dream school."[2] On November 24 he earned his first start in a 88–62 victory against Alabama A&M after Jaylen Butz was sidelined with knee soreness.[2] In just his fifth game, he contributed 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 blocks, recording the third triple-double in program history and setting the program single-game blocks record.[2][11] On December 4, he recorded 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in a 85–80 victory over in-state rivals Eastern Kentucky.[12] On December 11, he recorded 16 points, nine rebounds and six blocks in a 71–48 victory over Ole Miss at the Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta.[13] On December 18, he had 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in their 82–72 win over Louisville – the Hilltoppers' first win over the Cardinals since 2008.[14] In their next game against Kentucky, he recorded eight points, six rebounds and seven blocks in the first half before exiting the game with an ankle sprain.[15]

Sharp finished the season with averages of 8.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and a nation-leading 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 72.7 percent from the field.[16] His 148 blocks set a new single-season program record, surpassing Chris Marcus's 97 blocks in 2000–01.[16] Sharp was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and an honorable mention all-conference selection.[17] He was a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award,[18] as well as a finalist for the Lefty Driesell Award.[16]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 John A. Logan 3313–.641.000.3805.0.2.33.75.5
2020–21 John A. Logan 2416–.559.500.5827.3.7.25.87.7
2021–22 Western Kentucky 322828.0.726.000.3977.6.3.84.68.2
2022–23 Western Kentucky 323228.5.628.000.5007.7.21.04.17.4
Career 1218928.2.643.125.4646.9.3.54.57.2

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Yates, Dominique (November 3, 2021). "Who's the tallest player in Division I basketball? This 7-foot-5 Kentucky native". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 MacDonald, Jared (November 24, 2021). "Sharp records third triple-double in Hilltopper program history". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Story, Mark (December 17, 2021). "The most intriguing college basketball player in Kentucky is 7-5 — and still growing?". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  4. ↑ Dann, Spyder (April 23, 2019). "Sharp commits to JALC". Carbondale Times. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Jamarion Sharp". John A. Logan Volunteers. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "Stansbury Announces Signing of Nation's Top JUCO Player Jamarion Sharp". Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Athletics. November 23, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Fogal, Braden (April 6, 2021). "Logan's Sharp uses 7-3 height to dominate". The Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  8. ↑ Weiler, Mark (July 13, 2021). "MENS JUCO BASKETBALL : ALL-GRAC AND ALL-REGION SELECTIONS / OCC PLAYERS". Freedom929.com. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  9. ↑ Pascoe, Bruce (August 14, 2020). "Arizona Wildcats offer scholarship to 7-2 juco center Jamarion Sharp". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved January 11, 2022.(subscription required)
  10. ↑ Yates, Dominique (November 4, 2021). "What to know about Western Kentucky basketball big man Jamarion Sharp". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  11. ↑ Gaylord-Day, Kaden (November 24, 2021). "Sharp sets single-game record for blocks, records third program triple-double against Alabama A&M". College Heights Herald. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  12. ↑ MacDonald, Jared (December 4, 2021). "Shorthanded Tops take down EKU". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  13. ↑ MacDonald, Jared (December 11, 2021). "WKU beats Ole Miss in Atlanta with hearts back in BG". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  14. ↑ Compton, Michael (December 18, 2021). "Sharp provides WKU with strong presence in win over Louisville". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  15. ↑ Gardner, Hayes (December 23, 2021). "7-foot-5 WKU center Jamarion Sharp posts 7 first-half blocks against Kentucky before injury". The Courier-Journal. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 "Sharp Selected as Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award Finalist". Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Athletics. March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  17. ↑ "C-USA Postseason Awards Announced" (Press release). Conference USA. March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Sharp selected as Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist". Bowling Green Daily News. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
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