By SAM LANCE
INDIANAPOLIS — Four-star forward Nicholas Randall’s game is as smooth as his nickname: “butta.”
“My parents gave me that when I was born,” Randall told ZAGSBLOG.com “I don’t know why but it’s just something they gave me. That’s what everybody calls me. If they call me ‘butta’ that’s how you know they really know me.”
The nickname could describe the way Randall plays, as the 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward from Vashon High School (MO) and the Bradley Beal Elite Nike EYBL AAU program can do it all on the court. In Indianapolis, the forward posted 7.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game with an average of 18.3 minutes played. He helped Bradley Beal Elite to a 3-1 record in Session 3.
“I’m just blessed with this frame and my versatility,” Randall said. “It ain’t nothing new to me. People are really surprised when I’m able to guard smaller people or I’m able push the ball, but I’ve really just been blessed. I’ve played one-through-five my whole life. So it ain’t really nothing new to me. I played the point when I was younger. I’ve been doing it all since I was younger.”
Randall holds offers from the likes of Kansas State, Missouri, Ole Miss, SLU and VCU. Louisville, TCU and Virginia Tech have also been in contact, but Randall said Missouri and Virginia Tech have been talking to him the most.
“The only schools that talk to me on a regular basis is Missouri and Virginia Tech for real,” Randall said. “But if I play good this weekend, I feel like I should be getting some schools. A couple people have told me Providence will be talking to me soon.”
Randall broke down both Missouri and Virginia Tech:
Missouri: “I’m planning on taking an official visit to Mizzou. My official visit, I’ve been on an unnofficial. And I didn’t talk to anywhere else but I’m talking to some more coaches and If I play well this weekend, I should have some more stuff coming up.
On head coach Dennis Gates: “He’s a great guy. They like me over there at Missouri and I’m really considering it, so yeah. I’ve seen him coach, I’ve seen how they practice and stuff. I just like it.”
Virginia Tech: “I just like their coaching staff. I watched them on TV and I watched a couple of their highlights on YouTube. I just like their pace of play. They like to play fast. Missouri does to but I just like both of those school for real.”
Gates and Missouri assistant Kyle Smithpeters were in Indianapolis to watch Randall play. Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young was also in attendance.
Randall said how the coaches interact with players will be most important when taking his visits.
“That’s why I like Vashon so much because they actually care about us,” Randall said. “That’s just the stuff I kind of look at. I don’t really care about the place, how many fans are going to be there. I just care about how much time I’m going to be in the gym because I love the gym, the weight room, the training room and stuff. Just the coaches for real.”
There are a couple players Randall would like to possibly team up with in college.
“I just talked to one of the Huntington Prep coaches that said they want me to team up with Darryn Peterson,” Randall said. “Or I could go team up with my guys over at La Lumiere like Chuck Love.”
Randall is ranked the No. 92 overall prospect in the 2025 class by 247Sports and the No. 3 player in the state of Missouri.
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