One of the top-rated NBA draft prospects is Kentucky freshman Shaedon Sharpe. But he has never played a second of college basketball.

The 18-year-old guard currently ranks No. 8 overall on my latest big board. Although he is healthy, don’t expect him to ever see the floor when the John Calipari-led Wildcats play in March Madness. His team, the No. 2 seed in the East, faces off against Saint Peter’s at 7:10 p.m. Thursday on CBS.

Sharpe, who is from Canada, was ranked as the top overall recruit in the class of 2022. However, he opted to graduate early from high school and enroll in Kentucky for the spring semester. When that high-impact decision was made, the reporting at the time suggested that Sharpe (unlike Emoni Bates) would actually become eligible for the 2022 NBA draft.

The 6-foot-6 guard was enrolled at Dream City Christian in Arizona before Kentucky. Sharpe will turn 19 years old on May 30, and the draft is on June 23, which means he will be one year out of high school and meet the age eligibility requirements to apply for draft eligibility.

However, coach Calipari has since confirmed that Sharpe would not play this season and that he is instead “prepared to lead” Kentucky next season. He is not hurt and his absence is not injury-related; Calipari is on the record saying “there has never been a plan” to play Sharpe.