Everything you need to know about Walter Sharpe (Picked at #32)

[Uncle Mxy]

The sleeper must awaken.

[xanadu]

Does anybody ever read the entire article?

He had narcolepsy. Of course he had trouble making it to classes and meetings. Any human being would, untreated.

I actually went to college with someone with narcolepsy. He would sometimes fall asleep at surprisingly loud parties, but it is not like you can't control your sleep at all. My friend graduated in less than 4 years. Narcolepsy is problematic, but it is not that debilitating. I can understand how it could cause him to miss an occasional meeting (assuming he didn't have a friend to make sure he was up), but I don't think narcolepsy would cause someone to flunk out of school. When you consider athletes' access to tutors, it should be no problem to get through those classes with some small amount of effort. It is not like miss. state or UAB have reputations for being tough on athletes. There was some football player that remained eligible at either mississippi or miss. state who was literally illiterate when he started classes. I do think it is pretty sweet that his UAB profile states that he was a philosophy major because he must have been the most bad-ass philosophy major ever. Anyways, I doubt he'll ever amount to much, but I thought Tayshaun was a bad pick so I've been wrong before.

[Black Dynamite]

This narcalepsy angle is going to be in play with us at WTF, don't you think?

Bleh, go to sleep driving Glenn.

I still say these are useless picks made useless on purpose because there's literally no room on the damn roster.

If one of these flyers pans out, cool. But i'm not riding our season on anybody we drafted.

[JackTalkThai]

------The Brief History of Walter Sharpe-----
Jun 9, 2008

You're asking yourself....Who is Walter Sharpe?

The Washington Wizards Blog gives a couple fast facts about Sharpe such as: "averaged 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in 12 games during his senior season" and "played one season Mississippi State before transferring to UAB."

Ivan Carter had this to say on Wizards Insider : "Walter Sharpe (UAB, the same school that produced former Wiz guard and one of my all-time favorite guys Donell Taylor )."

As a fan of SEC sports, especially those pertaining to my alma mater, Mississippi State, I feel that it is my duty to share the brief and tumultuous history of Walter Sharpe.

Sharpe was a standout blue-chipper for Parker High in Birmingham, Alabama. Rivals.com rated him a 5.7 (out of 6.1) and he was ranked #44 in the Rivals 150. As you can imagine, Sharpe was heavily recruited by local schools, Alabama and the University of Alabama-Birmingham, but surprisingly chose to sign with Mississippi State (narcolepsy). This sparked angry finger pointing in many directions as the signing of Walter Sharpe was just one of many battles in the perpetual basketball recruiting wars between Mississippi State and Alabama (two schools separated by about 90 miles).

Sharpe's freshman campaign in 04-05 started out with promise. Many at Mississippi State couldn't help but be excited about a smooth 6'10" player with sick handles, a sweet stroke, and athleticism to drool over.

The promise rapidly morphed into disappointment. Sharpe could never get his act together (narcolepsy), as he had multiple issues from tardiness to academics (narcolepsy). Despite missing a team flight to a tournament in California in December of '04 (narcolepsy), and skipping a practice (narcolepsy), thus being left home for the NCAA tournament in March of '05, the door of chances was still open for the kid.

During Sharpe's sophomore year with the Bulldogs, he missed the beginning of the season due to academic ineligibility (narcolepsy) and only ended up dressing out six games (averaging 9.3 points and 5.0 boards) before ultimately being dismissed from the team in January of '06. Missing another practice (narcolepsy) was the final straw.

Next stop: UAB. Before even making it to UAB, Walter Sharpe was shot with a tiny bullet in the stomach in April 2006 (narcolepsy). Curiously, he tried to deny he was shot and attempted to hide his wound from police and medics (narcolepsy). In August of 2007, Sharpe was one of five UAB Blazers arrested for disorderly conduct (narcolepsy) after a night on the town in Birmingham. UAB head coach, Mike Davis, credited the arrest with bringing his team together. No word if other college coaches have caught onto this phenomenon.

After sitting out a year and finally suiting up for the Blazers, Walter Sharpe averaged 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in UAB's first 12 games of the 07-08 season. However, in January of 2008, Sharpe was declared academically ineligible for the rest of the year (narcolepsy). He was subsequently diagnosed with narcolepsy (THANK-YOU...it's about fuckin' time), which has been used as an excuse for academic woes (excuse my ass...it's the troof). Sharpe had hopes to receive treatment and suit up for the Blazers in 2008-2009, but for one reason or another, opted to declare for the NBA draft instead.

[Glenn]

Sam Perkins had narcolepsy I think, too.

In addition to being nick'd "Big Smooth" he also was known as "Sleepy".

[Jethro34]

There is talk about having success academically in spite of narcolepsy. That's probably because your friend needed to succeed academically and cared about academic success.
This kid, probably like Brandon Jennings, knew academics were not his ticket in life and just a hoop he had to jump through. When that's the case, it probably isn't worth it the point that you actively seek interventions, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW YOU HAVE IT!

Honestly, I don't like any of these picks, but I was ripping the Stuckey pick for a week afterward, questioned the Tay pick, and thought Maxiell would never make the active roster. So take it for what it's worth.

[Glenn]

Here is some stuff that has been posted already.

chad ford's analysis:

I like this pick for Dumars. Sharpe is a total sleeper who really emerged in the past few weeks as a legit prospect. The Pistons love his athleticism, length and scoring ability. He's a project headed for the D-League, but the Pistons had great luck developing Amir Johnson there and will try it again with Sharpe.

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2008/6...story-of-walte

During Sharpe's sophomore year with the Bulldogs, he missed the beginning 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 in January of '06. Missing another practice was the final straw.

Next stop: UAB. Before even making it to UAB, Walter Sharpe 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. 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. No word if other college coaches have caught onto this phenomenon.

After sitting out a year and finally suiting up for the Blazers, Walter Sharpe averaged 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in UAB's first 12 games of the 07-08 season. However, in January of 2008, Sharpe was declared academically ineligible for the rest of the year. He was subsequently been diagnosed with narcolepsy, which has been used as an excuse for academic woes. Sharpe had hopes to receive treatment and suit up for the Blazers in 2008-2009, but for one reason or another, opted to declare for the NBA draft instead.

LMAO! is this a joke!?

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/...ard-Crop-2935/
GOOD NUMBERS IN LIMITED PLAY.

Sharpe is #42.

Analysis: No one knows if Sharpe will be a stud or a bust. But I like the pick just because it's Detroit president Joe Dumars being bold, as usual, trying to reach for greatness. Sometimes things don't pan out, but he keeps trying.

[MoTown]

This whole "sleeper" thing could get really funny.

[MoTown]

First to say it:

WalterX2 = Larry O'Brien Trophy

[Timone]

DON'T SLEEP ON HIM.

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