In what must only be considered good news for Kentucky fans and those hoping for another superstar class in Lexington, Julius Randle reiterated that he likes the Harrison twins and could imagine playing alongside them.
“I can tell you, 100 percent, that all three of us are cool,” the 6-foot-9 Texas forward wrote on his USA Today blog. “I’ve got the utmost respect for those guys and their games and we’re actually cool with each other. Every time I see them, we talk and hang out so I don’t know where that [rumors that they don’t get along] came from.
“I love that they’re at Kentucky too.
“Potentially playing with two great guards would make it easier for me. I think that we would have a legit shot to win a national championship in our first year because I don’t see any guards in the country that would be better than them.”
Kentucky last week added Michigan shooting guard James Young to the Harrisons and forward Derek Willis. If they land Randle and/or Huntington Prep small forward Andrew Wiggins, they could have the greatest recruiting class in history, as I wrote in this story last week.
The 6-foot-8 Wiggins has yet to decide whether he will reclassify to 2013 from 2014, but even with his friend and teammate Xavier Rathan-Mayes picking Florida State last week, Kentucky must still be considered the favorite to land Wiggins.
As for Randle, he announced that he will take an unofficial to Oklahoma Oct. 27 for the Notre Dame game after having visited Florida Oct. 5.
“My mom and talked to Coach (Billy) Donovan and he showed me film of some of the players he’s had in the past and showed me how he would use me,” Randle wrote of the Florida visit. “He said he’s never had a player like me so he didn’t want to compare anyone to me. I know he would let me play my game and give me freedom offensively. That’s what he did this summer with Team USA so I’m really comfortable with Coach D.”
Randle also addressed why he cut North Carolina and Duke from his list, which is now down to six.
“The only thing that I can say is, I had to make the best decision for me,” Randle wrote. “A lot of people would leave them on their list for show or something like that, but I didn’t think those were the best fit for me. Those are two great schools and I really have a lot of respect for the coaches. That’s why I didn’t want to string them along if I knew that I wasn’t gonna go there.
“You guys have no idea how hard this whole process is, but stuff like deciding on the list is hard. Like I said, I just have to do what I think is in my best interest and be upfront and that’s what I’ve done so far.”
