In the Spotlight: Julius Randle

Julius Randle
Position: Power Forward
Ht: 6-9, Wt: 225
Hometown: McKinney, Texas
College: Kentucky
Class: Freshman - incoming
DOB: 11/29/94

Strengths:

• Plays with a tenacity… high intensity… very competitive / determined
• Extremely versatile on the offensive end
• High skill set – Inside / outside ability, which makes him a tough player to match up against.
•  Tremendous ball handling skills for a 4… Can grab a rebound and take the ball end to end
•  Good face up game with the ball in his hands – advanced for his size
• Shows a nice hesitation dribble, to his left
• Great scoring ability – will find a way to put the ball in the basket
• Crafty footwork in the paint
• Nice shooting form from the outside
• Strong player with good body build… As he continues adding muscle, he needs to keep himself toned enough to maintain his quickness / not slow himself down

Weaknesses:

• Heavily relies on facing the basket
• Can’t be too predictable when facing up
•  If he’s going left – he’s going to the basket
• If he’s going right – he’s pulling up for jump shot
• Needs to work on going to his right hand 
• Overpowers players at this level – won’t work as he gets to the next level
• Needs to improve his ability to score over bigger players
• Plays with a lower energy level on the defensive end… needs to stay as hungry to lock down as he does score
• Average foot speed and later movement.  (would love to see him show that he can guard 3’s)

Overall:

Combine his very rare skill set, with his desire to be great and Julius Randle is a very enticing prospect at the NBA level.   His ability to attack the opposition off the dribble and play with his face to the basket at 6’9 / 225 lbs, makes him a very tough player to match up against.   He’s very versatile with a competitive attitude, and seems like he’s ready to put in the hard work it will take to be a stud.

At this level, Randle can dominate simply by over powering the opposition.  He’s a good athlete, not earth shattering, and the game will continue getting tougher as he advances, and wont be able to rely on out-sizing the opposition.   But he’s someone that has all the tools to be a big time player, at any level.

It will be interesting to see how Randle’s used on the offensive end during his freshman season at Kentucky, given his propensity to drift outside and desire to play on the perimeter.   We’ll be watching closely to see how he adjusts to playing against bigger / longer defenders night in and night out and the improvements he makes with his back to the basket.

As important will be the progress Randle makes on the defensive end, both individually and in the team concept.    Some will come from awareness (rotating from the weakside, hedging out defensively on the pick and roll, etc.), but much of the improvement will come from desire.  

Randle will likely be one and done and is one of our top 5 prospects heading into next season.