Randle to Kentucky

Basketball Recruiting Editor's Picks42

Julius Randle has committed to Kentucky. This is an influx of talent that has never been seen before and Wiggins might choose them as well. Should we change their name to the Heat?

That means Kentucky will have the No. 2 (Randle), No. 3 (Aaron Harrison), No. 4 Andrew Harrison), No. 9 (Lee), No. 11 (Young) and No. 13 (Johnson) prospects in the Class of 2013.

Cal has figured out how to manipulate the one year NBA rule and has essentially become the NBA minor league. Depending on who leaves he will have a two deep of top twenty players at every position. I feel this rule is really not good for college basketball but it is hard to fault him for taking advantage of the rules. I wonder how many championships Kentucky will end up vacating before Cal is finished.

About Rick

1992 and 2002 graduate from NCSU. Born and raised an NCSU fan. I remember the good ol' days and they weren't in the last 20 years.

Basketball Recruiting Editor's Picks

42 Responses to Randle to Kentucky

  1. Wufpacker 03/20/2013 at 2:04 PM #

    I’m surprised. I figured he was 60% KU, 30% UT, 10% UK.

    I think Julius is a good kid but I’m disappointed he chose them.

    If Cal isn’t cheating then he’s one helluva salesman, even by UK standards. They have enough talent in this class to have not only the top class, but they could split them and probably still have the top two.

    Actually, no probably about it.

  2. BrickyardBonfire 03/20/2013 at 2:15 PM #

    With all that talent and kids constantly going to the NBA, what is the chance to even contend again for an NCAA championship if Cal has to constantly “rebuild” a young team?

  3. gumby 03/20/2013 at 2:15 PM #

    That’s a whole lotta ego to keep in check…

  4. MrPlywood 03/20/2013 at 2:23 PM #

    Talk about an ocean liner… Gott is still trying to turn the USS Wolfpack while the good ship Wildcat just plows through icebergs.

    It does give one pause though, especially since I read all the playing time rationalizations about why recruits don’t come play for State (or guys leave).

  5. JohnGalt78 03/20/2013 at 2:26 PM #

    Could be a “Harrowing” experience for Ryan.

  6. Texpack 03/20/2013 at 2:41 PM #

    When you only plan to be there one year you want the maximum exposure and hype surrounding that year. These kids all assume they will still be the man after they arrive in Lexington so the concept of losing playing time hasn’t entered their thought process. If three of the six pan out, he’ll have enough talent to win it all. You know he’s cheating, because he always has.

  7. ILPackfan 03/20/2013 at 2:48 PM #

    Wow. I know the standard disclaimer is that “Cal’s never been directly implicated” in the scandals that have followed in his wake. But it’s hard to see how he’s not going to have another scandal on his hands with that many top-tier recruits in one place. Just saying.

  8. Rick 03/20/2013 at 3:19 PM #

    “You know he’s cheating, because he always has.”

    He has always stayed one step in front of the allegations. He has been at UK a mighty long time. Could it be NBA time again?

  9. redcanine 03/20/2013 at 3:25 PM #

    Everyone cheats in college basketball, right? I don’t know what Cal’s doing, but he’s doing it better than anyone else.

    They’re definitely NIT favorites next season.

  10. motorhead 03/20/2013 at 3:34 PM #

    I think the biggest disappointment in the one and done mentality is that these kids really don’t even care about winning the NCAA. I’m not just talking about UKs recruits either. They have little attachment to the school. I guess maybe they should be able to bypass the farce and go directly to the NBA. Most of the lottery would be high school kids.
    As a side note, Jeff Goodman has Leslie in the 50s, late second round, BELOW Richard Howell and TJ Warren.

  11. Gene 03/20/2013 at 3:59 PM #

    “I think the biggest disappointment in the one and done mentality”

    I wonder how much the influence of agents in AAU ball has to do with the one-and-done mentality?

    Ralph Sampson’s interview in ‘Survive and Advance’ about knowing he’d be the number one pick in the NBA draft, since his senior year of high school was interesting and how staying in school seemed like the right thing to do.

    There isn’t any one else, who would be a top pick coming out of high school now that would ever want to go to college.

  12. Rick 03/20/2013 at 4:14 PM #

    “There isn’t any one else, who would be a top pick coming out of high school now that would ever want to go to college.”

    But who would? If I could have made millions without going to college I would have jumped at the chance. In the major sports, it appears the term college athlete is an oxymoron (wufpacker – that is not a term for a well oxygenated idiot).

  13. tuckerdorm1983 03/20/2013 at 4:47 PM #

    They better put the championship banners up with velcro over at Blue Nation. I’m just sayin. If they need to come down overnight it can be much easier.

    Just a note ” a reporter for the NY Times looked at Bernard Madoff’s returns for 20 years and said that it was impossible, unless he is cheating”. When we look at the recruiting of Calamari you think the same thing.

  14. Gene 03/20/2013 at 5:00 PM #

    “But who would? If I could have made millions without going to college I would have jumped at the chance.”

    Meh…some people just like the experience…look at the child stars, who are set for life who go to college like Jodie Foster, Brook Shields, the Olsen twins and the current crop like Emma Watson.

    It just really begs the question, why high school to the NBA has become so prevalent lately.

    Moses Malone did it. A few others tried, like Darryl Dawkins and didn’t have much success.

    Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson left after their sophomore years in college and had outstanding NBA careers, but that still didn’t spark a mass early exodus from college.

    Even back in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s the money for being a top NBA pick was still pretty damn good.

    Something’s changed and it’s not solely the money.

  15. redcanine 03/20/2013 at 5:29 PM #

    “Something’s changed and it’s not solely the money.”

    The expectations have changed. It’s a social more among the most prized recruits to leave early for the NBA. It would be against the grain for a player like Kyrie, Wall, or A Davis to stay past their frosh season.

    These recruiting info available through new media, internet, and ESPN has made these top players stars while still in high school. They don’t have to earn their rep while in college, they just have to live up to it (or come close), then they’re RICH.

  16. doug 03/20/2013 at 5:32 PM #

    calapari is a cheat we all know this

  17. bill.onthebeach 03/20/2013 at 5:34 PM #

    ..first thing is … I’m glad all these guys didn’t go to Dook… Coach Rat and subordinates are running a pretty good version of ‘one and done’ over there too….

    .second thing… is really doesn’t matter if UK is ‘cheating’ legally or illegally…. anymore. They are under the proverbial microscope… and a change (in rules) is gonna come….. if the NCAA doesn’t go out of business first.

    Why did they outlaw the dunk ?
    Why did they outlaw the Four Corners ?
    Why did they put the the three point shot ?
    Why will they shut down Coach Cal and UK’s one and done program ?

    Same answer to all four questions…. methinks.

    The rest of coaches just ain’t going to pull up with this much longer and will force a rule change in the good name of ‘competition, fair play, parity ‘, etc etc etc…. when all they really want is put UK out of business.

    The problem with that lies in ‘what the rest of schools ‘ have to swallow to do it….

  18. MrPlywood 03/20/2013 at 5:41 PM #

    @ Gene – the difference with the showbiz stars you mention is that they already had money in the bank. Like State’s own Scotty McCreary. They had the luxury to “dabble” in attending university.

    The high-level revenue sport athletes usually view jumping as the quickest route to making money. They want to capitalize on their talent while the getting is good.

  19. Texpack 03/20/2013 at 5:48 PM #

    So you’re majoring in Finance and have a full ride at Wake Forest and you’re some kind of prodigy. You get a call from Bear Stearns, Chase, or Credit Suisse offering you a job making $650,000/yr. The signing bonus is $5.5 million. Are you a dumb ass if you take the job? Are you being disloyal to WFU by bolting for Wall Street? Think about it. How is it any different than what the basketball players are doing?

  20. Mike 03/20/2013 at 5:50 PM #

    So that is 6 top 15 recruits. Last I checked only 5 can play at once. If he can keep them all happy……..not to mention the guys on the roster now. Should be interesting.

  21. triadwolf 03/20/2013 at 5:56 PM #

    For it to go away the NBA has to initiate it. They would have to come up with a legitimate, legal reason why players cannot enter the NBA early.

    The question is what interest does the NBA have in doing so? Right now they’ve got a free minor league system that allow them a look at players against a higher level of competition than high school can offer.

  22. Pack Leader 03/20/2013 at 6:09 PM #

    Top recruits these days are AFRAID to go on their own and play without all their AAU buddies.

    CHANGE THE RULE, LET THEM GO PRO OR MAKE THEM STAY 3 YEARS…

  23. wilmwolf80 03/20/2013 at 6:25 PM #

    How in the hell do they not run afoul of the rules regarding graduation rates?

  24. MrPlywood 03/20/2013 at 6:33 PM #

    @PackLeader… I was going to post that this reminded me of some of the regular pickup games I used to attend. There was always a group of usual suspects who would arrange to arrive at the same time and/or sign each other in, stack their team, win their games then split. Good for them, but kinda boring. The games were much better when their was some parity.

  25. redcanine 03/20/2013 at 7:02 PM #

    The problem isn’t the rules, it’s the SUCCESS, the impact that these top recruits make.

    Kentucky doesn’t want parity. Michigan State (6 out of last 13 Final Fours) isn’t calling for parity. I haven’t heard mid-majors Butler or VCU asking for new recruiting rules.

    I like the way college basketball is right now. There is no problem.

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