According to reports, Josh Sharma has agreed to join the Utah Jazz Summer League team.
Sharma criss-crossed America in the run-up to the draft, attending 14 team workouts and still finding time to walk in graduation. He did not hear his name called in yesterday’s draft, but clearly impressed enough to nab the invite for next month’s showcase.
The Jazz have a strong starting front court in Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors. After that, though, the only big man they have under contract is Tony Bradley. Sharma should have a real chance to compete for a training camp invite with them. Even if things with Utah don’t work out, it’s likely another NBA, G-League, or foreign team will show interest. True seven-footers with his athleticism and burgeoning skill set aren’t exactly abundant.
Sharma will kick off his pro career on July 1 as part of the small Salt Lake Summer League. He will most likely continue with the team on July 6 as they begin their slate in Las Vegas.
Comments
Late bloomer...
Stanford’s recent big men haven’t set the world on fire, possibly a coaching shortfall in part. Josh Sharma exploded as a senior although his team struggled. Also, Josh is a late comer as a rim protector and dunker, albeit he’s not as dominant as a Bol Bol or Conner Vanover. His one shortcoming for NBA eyes is his lack of perimeter threat; maybe he’ll expand his skill set as a pro? Currently, he’s not going to spread the defense. Sharma’s impressive improvement, from junior to senior, caught a lot of attention; pro scouts should’ve noticed that he deserves a second look. His upside could be worth the scouts’ per diem. Best wishes to Josh!
By Candid One on 06.22.19 1:43pm
Total lack of coaching.
Sharma is one of the most underutilized players under Haase. Though I suspect Haase will outdo himself in the near future. Sharma use to be an outside threat and has shot threes in past years, but Haase didn’t seem to encourage or develop that part of Josh’s game. I agree with Candid One that this is a lack of coaching under the current regime. Josh wanted to play, he wanted to compete. Congrats to Josh for getting an opportunity to continue his career in basketball.
By Blackjoy on 06.24.19 12:09pm
To be fair to Haase
The most 3’s Sharma shot were in his sophomore year, when he shot 22 at a 27% clip. He wasn’t exactly lighting the rims on fire, and it’s probably best he started playing more inside. That said, his free throw shooting improved tremendously, so it’s possible he could develop the range if he worked at it, but that wasn’t going to happen at Stanford, regardless of what Haase did.
By JYTLM on 06.25.19 5:54am
Shooting is mental. Sharma had the mechanics.
I agree that we do have to consider whether Sharma has the ability to make three’s at a reasonable rate. However, anyone who plays basketball knows that hitting open shots has a huge mental component. Lack of confidence and mental focus has a tremendous impact on shooters, even in the NBA. If a player misses shots and the coach criticizes the shot choice or worse, benches the kid, it has a damaging impact on the that players willingness and confidence in taking those shots in the future.
Honestly, I felt that Haase didn’t do squat to improve Sharma. I could be wrong, but Sharma should have been a focus for the offense and he clearly wasn’t. If Sharma had a productive game, it was because of Sharma’s own aggressiveness and Haase forgetting to bench Sharma after 3 minutes. Admittedly, Sharma was foul prone, so that didn’t help, but much of Sharma’s proclivity to foul could have easily been coached out of him.
I want to root for Haase. He seems like a good guy. Unfortunately, I feel like Haase can only contemplate 50% of what he needs to be contemplating as the head coach. It’s like Haase has these huge blind spots when it comes to game-day tactics/strategies and leveraging his personnel.
By Blackjoy on 06.27.19 10:11am
Josh was my favorite Cardinal to watch this last year,
and one of my favorites in the conference. I hope he finds a spot, and a career, as I’d enjoy seeing some more of him. Given his size, I thing that’s likely. Good luck Josh.
By AndyPanda on 06.27.19 9:03pm