Chauncey Billups: Blazers Rookie Shaedon Sharpe ‘Growing Up’

The Portland Trail Blazers eked out a narrow victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, 107-105, behind another big game from 19-year-old rookie guard Shaedon Sharpe.

Sharpe scored 27 points for his third consecutive game of 25+ and played aggressively the whole night.

That aggression caught the attention (and appreciation) of Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, who praised Sharpe’s effort after the game.

I thought Shae, you know, he was just aggressive, attacking. I thought that he didn’t get discouraged. There were some calls that we thought that he could have gotten but didn’t get, but he didn’t get discouraged, kept playing, didn’t cry to the officials, nothing. He just kept playing, which I loved. And he was playing against, you know, I think Anthony Edwards is a big-time defender. He’s physical, he can really guard, and then he’s going down the lane and Rudy (Gobert) is there waiting on him – it didn’t discourage him at all. He stayed aggressive. So, he’s just growing up, man, he’s just growing up and it’s fun watching it.

There were times this season where Sharpe would have hanged his head after a mistake but it appears those days are bygone. He is becoming consistent and dangerous, regardless of the occasional rookie error.

This game marked the seventh straight start for Sharpe, who has averaged 24.7 points across that stretch, only scoring below 24 points on one occasion. Tune in to catch his eighth against the Memphis Grizzlies tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.