Julius Randle has no official college list and probably can envision himself at a number of different schools.
But one school he can definitely imagine playing for is North Carolina, which has been recruiting him about as long and hard as anyone.
“Coach [Roy] Williams is doing a great job of recruiting me,” the 6-foot-9 Randle said by phone from the USA U18 training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo. “Just staying on me and talking to me and establishing a relationship.
“They’re doing a great job recruiting me. I’m having fun with it. It’s a great school and I could really see myself fitting there.”
Still, Randle, the No. 1 power forward in the Class of 2013, is also being courted by Duke, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, N.C. State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, TCU and Texas, among others.
“I really don’t have any type of list right now,” he said. “At the end of the summer I’ll probably sit down and see what colleges I’m really interested in and see where I want to take officials and go from there.”
For now, Randle is excited to be a part of the 23-man U18 tryouts and hopes to be among the final 12 players who make the team and depart for the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Brazil.
“Just make the team and win a gold medal and do whatever I can to help the team win,” Randle said.
He’s trying out alongside many of the top 2013 players, including Andrew and Aaron Harrison and Troy Williams and North Carolina-bound point guard Nate Britt Jr.
“I’ve been wanting to play with other good players, so just learning to play off the ball and learning to do other things, other than just scoring every time, learning the little things,” he said.
He added: “It’s been real fun for me. It’s been an experience. It’s definitely a learning experience.”