Sounding the buzzer on his Louisville basketball career.

Bullitt East alumni Tyler Sharpe is transferring from the University of Louisville hoping to find more playing time at Northern Kentucky University (NKU).

After having a successful senior season, Sharpe walked onto the Cardinals team and has only been on the team for one season. As a walk-on, Sharpe was able to get some playing time and get to have the Divison l experience. Now, Sharpe is looking for a fresh start just north of Louisville, in Highland Heights, Kentucky where Northern Kentucky University is located.

The 6’1 guard and Mount Washington native averaged 19.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists as a senior during the 2015-16 season at Bullitt East. He was honored as the 2016 Sixth Region Players of the Year and a finalist for Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball. He also recorded 1,606 career points for the Chargers and finished third on the all-time assists list. Sharpe set the Bullitt East career record for three-points with 243. When the time came for him to pick a college his senior year, he decided to walk-on to Louisville because it was close to home with a great family enviroment. Sharpe liked head coach, Rick Pitino’s knowledge of the game and hoped to give a good effort to win playing time. Many walk-ons don’t get playing time since they are not on a scholarship so he entered the Cardinal program with a mind set to “take advantage of every opportunity I was given and work hard everyday to make sure I got better and bettered myself as a person,” said Sharpe. Sharpe turned down multiple scholarship offers. They included Pikeville, Kentucky State, and Indiana University Southeast.

Sharpe was able to experience the Division l atmosphere while he was at Louisville. “(I was able to be) a part of a team I idolized as a kid and playing for a coach that I looked up to my whole life. I was very blessed to have that opportunity,” said Sharpe. He scored his first points as a Cardinal against Pittsburgh in the win at Pittsburgh in January. He also picked up his first assist against Eastern Kentucky University when the colonels came into town in December and the Cardinals defeated the colonels by a final of 87-56.

Sharpe will take many things away with him when he goes to Northern Kentucky. That includes, “Work ethic, UofL demands excellence everyday and they make you work extremely hard day in and day out, I will keep that with me not only in basketball but in life,” said Sharpe.

As a Cardinal basketball player and playing under head coach Rick Pitino, Sharpe has learned many valuable things. “Basketball I.Q. , I became such a smarter basketball player under coach P and I will take that with me to help contribute to NKU,” said Sharpe. He hopes to continue the championship atmosphere at NKU and contribute to the team by give 100 percent effort every day. NKU recently made it to the NCAA Tournament in March and faced off against the highly ranked, Kentucky Wildcats in Indianapolis. This was the team’s first trip to the tournament and their first year being eligible for the NCAA tournament as they were a Division ll school for many years.

Many schools were interested in Sharpe when he decided to part ways with the Cardinals. He visited Morehead State and Campbellsville and was recruited by the following Division ll schools: Lindenwood and Cedarville. Sharpe was also recruited by two NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) schools: Pikeville and Georgetown. Senior Lindsey Duvall, UofL women’s basketball signee, said “I think it’s good that he’s doing what he wants. I support whatever he thinks is best and to pursue his basketball career.” 

Sharpe picked NKU because “I felt it was best for me and my future, I wanted to contribute to my team sooner and I felt transferring would allow me to do that, I chose NKU because I fell in love with their facilities and campus as a whole, also the coaches were great and everyone I met was genuine and was excited to have me,” said Sharpe. He will be a sophomore at NKU this year and hopes to bring a strong offensive force to the team with his shooting abilities.