The Sports XChange

OVERVIEW

Several off-field issues, missed practices and academic issues led to Sharpe's dismissals from Mississippi State and Alabama-Birmingham. He was later diagnosed with narcolepsy, a neurological condition most characterized by Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS).

At A.H. Parker High School, the two-time All-State, All-Metro and All-City selection helped lead the team to a composite record of 63-8 (.887) during his last two seasons. He was named the Birmingham Athletic Partnership (BAP) Metro Player of the Year as voted on by the Birmingham city coaches. He was named to The Birmingham News' 2003-04 Alabama Super Five team comprised of top area seniors and chosen as an Alabama Class 6A Player of the Year finalist.

Sharpe was a member of the Birmingham Post-Herald's All-Metro team in 2005, as he averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds, five blocked shots and four assists per game. The team enjoyed a runner-up finish in the 2004 Alabama Class 6A state tournament, earning All-Tournament team and Regional MVP honors.

He averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks per contest as a junior to help lead the 2002-03 Thundering Herd to a second place regular-season state ranking. He was also named to the All-Tournament team of the 2003 Alabama Class 6A regional championship. Before arriving at Mississippi State, Sharpe was selected as one of the Top 100 finalists for the 2004 McDonald's All-American High School Game. In 2004-05, his MSU career began with great promise, but trouble soon followed. He missed a team flight to a tournament in California in December of 2004, and skipped a practice, thus being left home for the NCAA Tournament in March of '05.

Sharpe was limited to 195 minutes of action in 22 games. He averaged 2.4 points and 1.9 rebounds per game as a freshman. He added 10 blocked shots with 11 assists, as he shot 56.1% from the floor, but just 27.3% from the free throw line.

During Sharpe's sophomore year with Mississippi State, he was forced to miss the start of the season due to academic ineligibility and only ended up dressing out six games (averaging 9.3 points and 5.0 boards) before ultimately being dismissed from the team on Jan. 16, 2006 for a "violation of team rules."

"Walter has been dismissed from the Mississippi State basketball team," coach Rick Stansbury said in the release. "He is a good person, but unfortunately things just didn't work out for him here. We wish him well in his future endeavors."

Sharpe transferred to Alabama-Birmingham, but before even making it to UAB, he was shot with a tiny bullet in the stomach in April 2006. Curiously, he tried to deny he was shot and attempted to hide his wound from police and medics. He would spend the 2006-07 season on the sidelines at UAB, under NCAA transfer rules.

In August of 2007, Sharpe was one of five UAB Blazers arrested for disorderly conduct after a night on the town in Birmingham. UAB head coach Mike Davis credited the arrest with bringing his team together.

After sitting out a year and finally suiting up for the Blazers, Sharpe averaged 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in UAB's first 12 games of the 2007-08 season. However, in January of 2008, Sharpe was declared academically ineligible for the rest of the year. He was also diagnosed with narcolepsy, which has been used as an excuse for his academic woes. Sharpe had hoped to receive treatment and suit up for the Blazers in 2008-09, but for one reason or another, opted to declare for the NBA draft instead.

ANALYSIS

Positives: Has explosive leaping ability with a long wingspan (84-inches) and good court quickness for a frontcourt player...Shows enough ball handling skills to bring the ball up the court and shows good ability taking his man off the dribble on the way to the rim...His exceptional leaping skills will generally see him make big plays above the rim (blocks, rebounds, put-backs)...For a player his size, he is very quick getting off the ground and shows good mobility on both ends of the court...Has big hands for a catch-and-shoot player and uses his hand quickness effectively to make the quick pass out of the low post... Elevates well going for put-backs and when cleaning the glass, exciting the crowd with thunderous dunks...Shows good coordination on the open floor and is slowly developing a decent off-the-dribble game...Has good body control finishing around the basket and even though he does a nice job of drawing contact, he's a liability at the foul line...Has nimble feet executing his drop step towards the baseline...Has good court vision that he uses to recognize double teams, delivering quick kick-out passes...Has the ability to get to off-balanced rebounds...Not used much on the perimeter as a shooter, but does a nice job using his body there to set picks...Shows good range executing his jumper, but lacks confidence taking his shots from three-point range...Still a work in progress, but showed the ability to set his feet and elevate taking his jump shot from 10-to-12 feet away...Not really involved in the offensive game at MSU, but at UAB, he showed a strong inside game, mixed in with his mid-range jumper, showing good form, a high release point and the elevation that makes it difficult for a defender to block his attempts...Uses the glass well, especially when executing a reverse lay-up...Can convert with consistency in the low post, where he has good leg drive using his jump hook across the lane...Shows good mobility timing his leaps going for the shot block...Has enough ball-handling skills to get to the basket and can make good right side spin moves to take his man off the dribble (slower going to his left)...Shows good vision as a passer, doing a good job of creating scoring opportunities, whether in the low or high post...Efficient weak-side shot blocker with the timing to alter shots around the basket, but will bite on hesitation moves and fakes, committing too early to the air when defending on the perimeter...Much quicker rotating from the weak side than he does on the perimeter and establishes his presence strongly in the paint...Uses his body, legs and arms in unison trying to box his man out and has more than enough strength to contain his opponent working in the post.

Negatives: Has narcolepsy, a neurological condition most characterized by Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS)...Has had two off-field issues, along with missed practices and academic problems that bring both character and maturity concerns...Not really a focus of the offense, and while he shows an improved jumper, he seems to lose interest on the court without the ball in his hands and must be more patient at the free throw line, where his form and release point are too erratic...Better one-on-one defender, as he lacks the lateral agility to prevent perimeter opponents from slashing on him and will constantly bite on hesitation moves, crossovers and good head and shoulder fakes...More comfortable with his back to the basket, as he lacks any confidence facing the basket and shooting from the outside...Tries to get too cute in the passing lanes, needing to do a better job of shooting his hands, as he gets too out of control, resulting in lots of hacking charges...His motor is not always running and even though he has natural strength, he can shy away from contact when he gets into a physical combat with an opponent...Leaves his feet too early trying to go for the block and needs to time his leaps better...Has enough ball-handling ability to take a few straight dribbles to the basket with his right hand, but needs to expand his face-up dribble-drive game...Has good body control, but vs. more physical defenders, he struggles in getting off his moves....Even with his decent shot blocking totals, he has a tendency to lose his focus on the court and will be caught simply watching opposing players go by...Does not always play with a good motor, as he often looks complacent and fails to make all of the rotations because of disinterest on the defensive end.

Compares To: JERMARIO DAVIDSON-Charlotte-Like Davidson, Sharpe is just starting to discover his face-the-basket skills. He was really starting to hone his mid-range jumper, but as has often been the case throughout his career, academics, missed practices and off-field issues have reared their ugly head. He was booted out of two schools and while he is a fine athlete, you have to wonder how his narcolepsy will play out in the league. If the light finally goes on and he starts showing a work ethic, someone could get a second-round steal. But, he's better off in the NBA D-League for a year or so. At his age (24), he is running out of time to grab that brass ring, though.

CAREER NOTES

For his collegiate career, Sharpe appeared in a total of 40 games, logging 612 minutes of action...Scored 278 points (7.0 ppg), as he shot 53.4% from the floor (111-of-208) and 50.0% from the foul line (56-of-112)...Grabbed 153 rebounds (3.8 rpg) and blocked 37 shots (0.9 bpg)...Charged with 64 turnovers, as he handed out 34 assists (0.8 apg) and had 22 steals (0.6 spg).

2007-08 SEASON

Started 10 of 12 games before Sharpe was ruled academically ineligible...Scored a career-high 170 points (14.2 ppg), as he hit on 68-of-130 field goals (52.3%) and 34-of-65 free throws (52.3%)...Snatched 82 rebounds (6.8 rpg) and blocked 22 shots (1.8 bpg)...Had 20 assists (1.7 apg) and 14 steals (1.2 spg)...Charged with 34 turnovers and 36 personal fouls, fouling out of two games...Scored in double figures eight times, including three 20-point performances.

2007-08 GAME ANALYSIS

Made his UAB debut with 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots vs. Georgia State...Scored 20 points, as he had two steals and five boards vs. Georgia Southern...Followed with a career-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting, adding 17 boards, two assists, two steals and three blocks vs. Rhode Island, earning Conference USA co-Player of the Week honors...Snared seven rebounds and tallied 14 points vs. Eastern Kentucky...Totaled 15 points with six rebounds vs. Cincinnati...Closed out his college career with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding three assists vs. Kentucky.

2006-07 SEASON

Sat out the 2006-07 season due to NCAA transfer rules.

2005-06 SEASON

Played in six contests at Mississippi State before he was dismissed from the team due to academic and off-field issues...Averaged 9.3 points (56 total) and 5.0 rebounds (30) per contest...Connected on 20-of-37 shots (54.1%) from the floor and 16-of-25 attempts (64.0%) from the free throw line...Added three assists, three steals and five blocked shots...Hit double figures in three of the six games, including a season-high 16 points vs. Akron.

2004-05 SEASON

Sharpe's freshman campaign at Mississippi State started out with promise, but rapidly morphed into disappointment...He had multiple issues from tardiness to academics, as he missed a team flight to a tournament in California in December, skipped a practice and was eventually left home for the NCAA tournament in March of '05...Finished with 52 points (2.4 ppg), 41 rebounds (1.9 rpg) and 11 assists (0.5 apg)...Also had five steals and blocked 10 shots, but was charged with 17 turnovers in just 195 minutes over 22 contests.

INJURY REPORT

2006: Was diagnosed with narcolepsy, a neurological condition most characterized by Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS). A narcoleptic will most likely experience disturbed nocturnal sleep, which is often confused with insomnia, and disorder of REM or rapid eye movement sleep. A narcoleptic may also fall asleep at any random time.

HIGH SCHOOL

Attended A.H. Parker (Birmingham, Ala.) High School, playing basketball for head coach Maurice Ford...The two-time All-State, All-Metro and All-City selection helped lead the team to a composite record of 63-8 (.887) during his last two seasons...Named the Birmingham Athletic Partnership (BAP) Metro Player of the Year as voted on by the Birmingham city coaches....Named to The Birmingham News' 2003-04 Alabama Super Five team comprised of top area seniors and chosen as an Alabama Class 6A Player of the Year finalist...Member of the Birmingham Post-Herald's All-Metro team in 2005, as he averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds, five blocked shots and four assists per game...The team enjoyed a runner-up finish in the 2004 Alabama Class 6A state tournament, earning All-Tournament team and Regional MVP honors...Averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks per contest as a junior to help lead the 2002-03 Thundering Herd to a second place regular-season state ranking...Named to the All-Tournament team of the 2003 Alabama Class 6A regional championship.

PERSONAL

Philosophy major...Son of Alicia and Walter Sharpe, Jr...Born Walter L. Sharpe, III on 7/18/86 in Huntsville, Alabama...Resides in Birmingham, Alabama.