Overview
One thing I’m not going to say about class of 2013 power forward Julius Randle is that he’s underrated — because he’s not. But it does seem like people don’t realize how special of a player he really is because of all the hype that class of 2013 small forward Jabari Parker gets. The 6’9, 243-pound Dallas native is one of the more versatile players in his class and although he’s highly heralded because of his physical tools and high ceiling, he is very skilled right now, too. The Prestonwood Wood Christian Academy (TX) rising senior, along with class of 2013 shooting guard friend, high school teammate and AAU teammates Duke commit Matt Jones, has led his Team Texan Titans (TX) squad to a Nike EYBL post-season berth in the Peach Jam with a 15-5 record.
Randle is one of the top scorers in the entire EYBL, ranking fourth in points with close to 18 a contest and leads the 40-team league with free throw attempts per game with over nine. He shoots close to 60% from the field through 20 games and knocks down over 75% of his free throws. He’s the top rebounder too with ten boards per contest and is by far the most dominant player on the defensive glass with close to nine defensive rebounds a game (by far the top mark). In addition to his scoring and rebounding prowess, he averages nearly three assists a game in the EYBL as well as a block and a steal.
As for his recruitment, Randle has been pretty quiet about schools. He recently mentioned Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Ohio State and Texas as schools coming after him with an offer from all of those programs. He also said he’s looking to visit Kentucky and Ohio State in the near future and wants to narrow down his list soon. As for his favorite, I don’t have a great read on that although I do think when he cuts his list, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina will almost certainly make it. One advantage Duke may have is the fact that Randle’s good friend and teammate Matt Jones is constantly in his ear. Jones previously told Duke Report that “Julius likes Duke a lot” and Randle is one of the most likely Duke targets to commit among those that he has been talking to.
Evaluation
Randle is a consensus top-three player in the class of 2013 and for good reason. He’s a versatile power forward with good strength and athleticism and has a considerably high ceiling. He does a good job of creating scoring opportunities for both himself and his teammates and he’s a good passer with matching court vision. Randle is able to get to the bucket consistently using either hand as well and finishes well through contact. His defense and rebounding on superb too and he’s able to defend both in the post and on the perimeter. He’s also a mobile big man with soft hands and excellent body control.
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Josh Paunil is a contributor to Duke Report who runs his own site, National Recruiting Spotlight, dedicated to college basketball recruiting. He loves getting feedback on his work and encourages readers to leave a comment on his articles to get a dialogue going. You can follow him on Twitter at @JoshPaunilNRS.
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[...] busy traveling all across the nation scheduling in-home visits with numerous top recruits including Julius Randle and Austin Nichols. On top of all that, Duke has either entered the conversation with recruits or [...]