Just days removed from participating in the 2012 Under Armour Elite 24 event in Los Angeles, California — where he captured the Elite 24 Slam Dunk crown on Friday and co-MVP honors behind a game-high of 27 points in Saturday’s Elite 24 game — Julius Randle has narrowed his list of potential suitors down to 10.
“Texas, Kansas, Baylor, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina State, Florida, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State,” Randle tweeted through his Twitter account on Monday afternoon. Randle has stated that he is in no hurry to end the recruiting process as he plans to make his highly anticipated decision in the spring of 2013. The Florida Gators will receive the 1st official visit from Randle on October 6.
Randle, a 6-8 power forward from Prestonwood Christian Academy (Texas), who has for quite some time been ranked as the #2 player in the class of 2013 behind Simeon (Illinois) small forward Jabari Parker, recently saw his ranking drop ever so slightly after the July evaluation period in ESPN and Scout.com’s top 100. ESPN bumped him down to the #3 ranking as Scout placed him at #4. In a August 8 piece that I had written for HoopCulture.com, I observed Scout’s recent update and voiced my displeasure with the decision to place Randle as the #4 player, going as far as saying that he had performed at such a high level over the summer to warrant him as the #1 player in the class of 2013.
Regardless, the lefty Randle possesses tremendous skill at the PF position. He’s an effective inside-out player, who can outmuscle opposing players and finish strong through contact inside and sports terrific range from 15 feet and beyond. A consistent double-double guy, Randle’s frame is irreplaceable as he is a human freight train on the basketball court. He is one of the more versatile players in the high school ranks with a college and NBA-ready skill-set that leaves many in awe. When one man can easily overpower the opposition on the inside and still command to be defended on the wing, that is saying something very special about Randle’s game.
As far as Duke goes in the “Julius Randle Sweepstakes”, they are sitting in an extremely comfortable position. Among the contributing factors in recruiting Randle, the playing time will definitely be available as Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly (starters) are both entering their senior seasons in 2012-13, Randle has been made a top target by the Duke coaching staff for quite a while now, and Duke also holds a verbal commitment from Randle’s Texas Titans AAU teammate and class of 2013 shooting guard Matthew Jones.
With Randle’s official decision many months away, you can guarantee that he will keep it close to the vest. He is one of the more mature individuals at the high school level, always conducting himself in a professional manner. His official visits should be finalized within the next couple of weeks as he prepares for his senior season at PCA where he helped lead the Lions to the 2011-12 TAPPS 5A State Championship, PCA’s 2nd state title.
Video courtesty of Meet Me At The Rim
Video courtesty of ESPN
By Chad Lykins
