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Julius Randle remains one of the most underrated players in my opinion in the John Calipari era and it’s no surprise he just finished his ninth season in the NBA.
In one season at Kentucky, he helped UK reach the 2014 national championship game and had 599 points, 416 rebounds, 57 assists, 31 blocks and 20 steals in 40 games. He’s played in 595 NBA games since leaving UK and averaged 18.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game and the last three years has averaged over 20 points per game.
On NBA star Paul George’s “Podcast P,” Randle said it was easy to leave Texas to play for John Calipari in the Bluegrass even though he had always wanted to play for the Longhorns.
“I grew up a Texas fan. So I grew up watching (Kevin Durant) and those dudes at Texas. But the reason why I couldn’t was because they sucked, bro. I’m not going to lie,” Randle told George. “It was terrible at the time. They’re good now. But at the time, it was awful.”
Texas went 16-18 and missed the 2013 NCAA Tournament the year before Randle got Kentucky to the national title game in Dallas a freshman when UK lost to Connecticut.
It was no surprise that Randle left UK for the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers picked him No. 7 and he’s a two-time NBA All-Star.
“It was a no-brainer for me,” Randle said about going to Kentucky. “I liked Duke, I liked Kansas and those other schools. But, like, it was a no-brainer.”
He still remembers a conversation Calipari had with him after the title game loss to Conn.
“It’s funny man because Cal can’t help himself but to be real, bro. We played in the (NCAA) national championship that year. We lost. So I’m hurt. We go back to the hotel, and he brings everybody in and says, ‘Alright, I’m gonna meet with everybody individually tonight. Just talk about your future and stuff,’” Randle said.
“So we meet with him, and I meet with him that night, and he’s like, ‘Bro, don’t even think about coming back (to UK for another season). I’m telling you. There ain’t no reason for you to come back. I’m not letting you come back. If you want to stay here in Dallas? Stay here in Dallas. But you’re not coming back.’”
Randle obviously still has a lot of love and admiration for his college coach.
“He’s not trying to hold you back at all. He’s definitely a real one. Shoutout to Cal, man,” Randle said on the podcast.
