Walter L. Sharpe III (born July 18, 1986) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for Yulon of the Super Basketball League (SBL).

Early career

Sharpe attended Parker High School in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Sharpe was listed as the No. 9 power forward and the No. 44 player in the nation in 2004. He later signed with

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

. Sharpe's career at Mississippi State was suspended frequently during his freshman season, declared academically ineligible during his sophomore season and eventually left the team. He transferred to the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

, where he averaged 14.2 points per game in 12 games before being declared academically ineligible for the spring semester of the 2007–08 season.

Professional career

He was selected as the 32nd overall pick by the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

in the

2008 NBA draft The 2008 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2008, at the The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this NBA draft, draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took t ...

. Shortly after being drafted, the Sonics traded his rights to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. Shortly after being drafted, Sharpe was diagnosed with

narcolepsy Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that impairs the ability to regulate sleep–wake cycles, and specifically impacts REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. The symptoms of narcolepsy include excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), sleep-r ...

, a sleeping disorder that causes excessive sleepiness. On July 13, 2009, he was traded along with Arron Afflalo to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

for a second-round pick in the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponso ...

. On July 31, 2009, he was traded along with

Sonny Weems Clarence "Sonny" Weems (born July 8, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Shenzhen Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the University of Arkansas and the University of Ar ...

and cash considerations to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

for Malik Allen. On October 26, 2009, he was waived by the Bucks. On December 9, 2011, Sharpe signed with the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

for the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season's training camp. On December 23, two days before the start of the regular season, Sharpe was waived by the Grizzlies. In March 2013, he signed with

GlobalPort Batang Pier The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides N ...

of the PBA, replacing

Justin Williams Justin Craig Williams (born October 4, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, and Washington Capitals ...

as their import. On March 19, 2013, GlobalPort Batang Pier terminated his contract due to "conduct unbecoming of a professional basketball player" after a controversial photo of him sleeping on parking lot pavement went viral. GlobalPort Batang Pier team manager BJ Manalo said that they "will not tolerate actions of any local or foreign player who destroys the integrity" of both their team and that of the PBA. Sharpe played only two games in the PBA.GlobalPort gives sleeping import Sharpe the boot
/ref> On July 1, 2014, he signed with Brujos de Guayama of Puerto Rico. He left Guayama after appearing in only one game. On February 9, 2015, he signed with Cocodrilos de Caracas of Venezuela for the 2015 LPB season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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References

External links

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Profile
at Eurobasket.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharpe, Walter 1986 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Taiwan American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Basketball players from Birmingham, Alabama Cocodrilos de Caracas players Dakota Wizards players Detroit Pistons players Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Idaho Stampede players Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball players New Mexico Thunderbirds players NorthPort Batang Pier players People with narcolepsy Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Centers (basketball) Soles de Mexicali players UAB Blazers men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Taiwan Beer basketball players Yulon (basketball) players Jeoutai Technology basketball players Super Basketball League imports Brujos de Guayama players Reales de La Vega players Shaanxi Wolves players Chongqing Fly Dragons (NBL) players