| Jamarion Sharp | |
| Position: | Center |
| Height Ft: | 7 |
| Height In: | 5 |
| Weight Lbs: | 235 |
| League: | NBA G League |
| Team: | Texas Legends |
| Number: | 33 |
| Birth Date: | 26 August 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Hopkinsville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| High School: | Hopkinsville (Hopkinsville, Kentucky) |
| College: |
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| Draft Year: | 2024 |
| Career Start: | 2024 |
| Years1: | 2024–present |
| Team1: | Texas Legends |
| Highlights: |
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Jamarion Demontrez Sharp[1] (born August 26, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Texas Legends of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for John A. Logan College, Western Kentucky, and Ole Miss. At, he was one of the tallest Division I players ever and is the tallest active NBA player. He is also one of the tallest living humans.
Sharp was born on August 26, 2001, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.[2] His father, Mario Sharp, was and his mother, Shiby Watkins, was .[3] He admits that "growing up, [he] didn’t love the game of basketball".[4] Sharp's future high school coach, Tim Haworth, who knew him since he was five years old, encouraged him to play.[4]
Sharp had a growth spurt the summer after middle school and came into Hopkinsville High School as a freshman.[5] He grew to by his junior year and became a seven-footer as a senior.[5] He played basketball for the Tigers, where he appeared in the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen state tournament as a sophomore.[5] As a junior, he averaged a modest 2.9 points and three rebounds per game.[4] 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.[3]
Western Kentucky head coach Rick Stansbury noticed Sharp, then a junior, in February 2018 while scouting another player.[4] He caught Stansbury's attention during pre-game warm-ups but did not play in the first half.[4] After Stansbury inquired about "the big kid", Haworth worked Sharp out in front of him at halftime by having him shoot jump hooks.[5] Sharp was offered a scholarship "basically that night".[4] However, he did not meet the academic requirements to attend Western Kentucky, his dream school, out of high school.[3] [4] On April 23, 2019, Sharp committed to John A. Logan College, a junior college (JUCO) in Carterville, Illinois.[6]
As a freshman for the John A. Logan Volunteers, Sharp was listed at .[7] 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.[8] 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.[8] On January 28, 2021, Sharp recorded 20 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks in a double-overtime victory over Three Rivers.[9] He recorded two triple-doubles in February against Kaskaskia College and Southwestern Illinois, including a season-high 12 blocks in the latter.[9] As a sophomore, Sharp averaged 7.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 blocks per game,[4] earning All-GRAC and all-region honors.[10]
Sharp was rated a four-star prospect and the top JUCO recruit in the nation by 247Sports.[3] He received offers from programs such as Arizona, Cincinnati and Oregon,[11] but committed to Western Kentucky on November 23, 2020.[8]
By the time Sharp arrived at Western Kentucky for the 2021–22 season, he had grown to .[3] In his first game as a Hilltopper, an exhibition against Campbellsville, he recorded 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 17 minutes.[12] Sharp said of the experience that it was "amazing to play for [his] dream school."[4] 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.[4] 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.[4] [13] On December 4, he recorded 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in a 85–80 victory over in-state rivals Eastern Kentucky.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17]
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.[18] His 148 blocks set a new single-season program record, surpassing Chris Marcus's 97 blocks in 2000–01.[18] Sharp was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and an honorable mention all-conference selection.[19] He was a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award,[20] as well as a finalist for the Lefty Driesell Award.[18]
After going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, Sharp joined the Dallas Mavericks for the 2024 NBA Summer League[21] and on August 3, 2024, he signed with the team.[22] However, he was waived on October 18[23] [24] and on October 26, he joined the Texas Legends.[25]
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20| style="text-align:left;"| John A. Logan| 33 || 13 || – || .641 || .000 || .380 || 5.0 || .2 || .3 || 3.7 || 5.5|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| John A. Logan| 24 || 16 || – || .559 || .500 || .582 || 7.3 || .7 || .2 || 5.8 || 7.7|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| style="text-align:left;"| Western Kentucky| 32 || 28 || 28.0 || .726 || .000 || .397 || 7.6 || .3 || .8 || 4.6 || 8.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| Western Kentucky| 32 || 32 || 28.5 || .628 || .000 || .500 || 7.7 || .2 || 1.0 || 4.1 || 7.4|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 121 || 89 || 28.2 || .643 || .125 || .464 || 6.9 || .3 || .5 || 4.5 || 7.2
In April 2024, Sharp was charged with aggravated assault for firing a gun while a vehicle was being repossessed. No one was injured in the incident. Sharp was taken into custody and was given a $100,000 bond by a municipal court judge.[1]