LAS VEGAS – Jamarion Sharp probably have one of the most intriguing recruiting stories of all time.
While Sharp was a high school junior in Hopkinsville, Ky., Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury was attending one of Sharp’s game, but was only there to scout another player. Sharp, however, got the attention of Stansbury during pregame warmups, but didn’t play in the first half of that game.
That’s when things got interesting.
“During halftime of the game, Rick Stansbury came up to my coach (Tim Haworth) and he told him to come work me out during halftime so he could see what I can do,” Sharp said. “Based on that, (Stansbury) offered me a scholarship.”
The gratitude by Stansbury obviously stunned Sharp, who had to be coaxed by Haworth to even play basketball. In fact, Sharp was shocked that he received a scholarship offer based solely on a random 10-minute workout at halftime of his high school game.
“In high school I wasn’t that good,” Sharp said. “I was like a two-star recruit. I was just tall and uncoordinated, and I was surprised that anybody wanted me.
“I wanted to go (to Western Kentucky) right after high school, but both of my parents told me no. At the time I was 17, so I had to do what they say. So, I went to (John A. Logan) junior college for two years, then I ended up coming back to Western Kentucky. It worked out.”
Nowadays, Sharp is a member of the Dallas Mavericks’ summer league squad. And at 7-5, they are counting on him to grab more than his fair share of rebounds and do whatever he can to limit the amount of points the opponents will score inside the paint.
Sharp started Saturday’s 90-89 loss to the Utah Jazz and finished with four points, six rebounds and four blocks in 23 minutes. Mavs summer league coach Jared Dudley described Sharp as “raw,” but with the potential to become a difference-maker.
“We gave him an opportunity — we gave him a start,” Dudley said. “That’s what you want to be able to see if you’re an organization (and) a Mavs fan.
“He’s more mobile than you think. I thought he did a good job of containing. (He has) a lot of potential.”
When Sharp wasn’t blocking Utah shots, he was altering many others. He was a force.
“Honestly, I really like him,” Mavs guard AJ Lawson said. “(He’s) a great shot blocker (and) rebounder.
“He did everything he needed to do (Saturday). He was talking on defense, communicating and just being the big piece that we need down there. If we get beat (on the perimeter), he was down there helping us out.”
And that was precisely the Mavs’ game plan entering Saturday’s contest.
“We wanted to be extra aggressive on the ball by the perimeter and funnel them right to (Sharp),” Mavs guard Brandon Williams said. “Being 7-5, he was there every time.”
Being tall has always been a way of life for Sharp. His mom is 6-3, his dad is 6-10. Sharp, himself, was 6-3 in the sixth grade and just kept growing from there.
But Sharp was never, as a youngster, passionate about basketball. That’s where Haworth stepped in and convinced him that he should consider playing basketball.
“The main thing that he told me is that if I stuck it out, I can take care of my family and my future generational family,” Sharp said. “It’s been a big adjustment from college to the NBA, but I’m making it.”
If Sharp makes it in the NBA, the only players in league history taller than him are a pair of 7-7 players in Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol, and four 7-6 giants in former Mavs center Shawn Bradley, Yao Ming, Tacko Fall and Slavko Vranes.
Of course, Sharp ha
s discovered some advantages to being extra tall besides having the capability of changing a lightbulb without a step ladder.
“One, you get noticed everywhere you go,” Sharp said. “Two, any time somebody is playing basketball they automatically want you on their team — automatically.
“And three, it’s just fun seeing everything and everybody.”
The disadvantages of being tall can be burdensome, Sharp noticed, especially when trying to find a comfortable seat on a commercial airplane.
“Finding clothes is definitely one of them,” Sharp said. “Another thing is basketball-wise, like the coordination.
“The taller you are, the harder it is for you to get coordinated. So that’s one of the biggest challenges that I had to face.”
When the Mavs play their second summer league game – Monday at 7 p.m. Dallas time – against Memphis at Cox Pavilion – Sharp knows one of his biggest challenges is he must be more efficient against the Grizzlies than he was against the Jazz.
“I just play my best as much as I can and hopefully we’ll get all the wins that we can,” he said.
X: @DwainPrice
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