Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky.
Kentucky forward Julius Randle took a lot of time and talked to a lot of people before deciding to leave after one season for the NBA draft, where he is expected to be among the top five selections.
With five days left before the deadline for underclassmen to declare, the 6-foot-9 Dallas native announced the decision many expected even before he arrived as part of Kentucky’s best recruiting class ever. Projected as a lottery pick from the outset, Randle solidified his draft stock by leading Kentucky (29-11) to the NCAA final behind a string of double-doubles despite being double- and triple-teamed.
Randle averaged 15.0 points and 10.4 rebounds and was voted to The Associated Press’ All-American third team. With Tuesday’s announcement, he joins guard James Young, who said last week that he would enter the June 26 draft.
“Kentucky will always have a special place in my heart, but growing up as a kid, there’s always been my dream to play in the NBA, and there’s no better opportunity for me to achieve that goal than now,” Randle said at a news conference attended by his mother, Carolyn Kyles, and teammates Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein, who rode in on a scooter.
Decisions remain for three more freshmen — twin guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison and center Dakari Johnson — along with sophomore forward Poythress, who didn’t talk about his future Tuesday. But Randle’s announcement was the most anticipated, even though Kentucky’s fan base was resigned to him becoming the latest of the program’s “one and done” players.
Randle’s steady low-post play led to positive feedback from league executives about his NBA potential. After spending the past couple of weeks talking with his family, Kentucky coach John Calipari — who didn’t attend the news conference — teammates and others, Randle made the decision many expected. His next step is hiring an agent.
“It wasn’t something that we said we were going to do overnight,” Kyles said of the decision-making process. “We prayed about it and talked about it for a while and decided this is the best decision for him.”