Draft Profile: Julius Randle

With the NBA Draft Lottery behind us, we shift our focus directly to the June 26th NBA Draft. Over the next month we’ll look at some of the top prospects in the draft, along with players that the Magic either reportedly worked out, or interviewed at the NBA Draft Combine. Kentucky bruiser Julius Randle is next.

The second of Kentucky’s stellar 2013 recruiting class to leave is the team’s leading scorer, Julius Randle. Randle, the number three prospect in ESPN’s Top-100 in 2013, helped will his struggling Wildcats into the NCAA Tournament, and into the Championship game. While they came up short, Randle is poised to be a lottery pick and potentially have a large impact going forward.

Points

Rebounds

Total Rebound %

Usage %

TS%

2013-14

15.0

10.4

19.2

25.4

56.7

Randle was an absolute beast his one year at Kentucky, racking up double-doubles in 27 of Kentucky’s 40 games played. He also scored in double figures in 35 of those 40 contests as well. However, he did struggle at times with his efficiency scoring, shooting below 50 percent in 18 games, and below 40 percent in nine of those battles.

Measurables

Height w/shoes

Weight

Wingspan

Standing Reach

Max Vert

6’ 9”

250

7’ 0”

8’ 9.5”

35.5

Strengths

Physical Tools

While many have talked about Randle having short arms, he’s an absolute beast physically thanks to his combination of size, and speed. He’s very agile for someone his size, and has great quickness. His size makes him a prototypical power forward in the NBA, and his strength helps him immensely. Thanks to his strength, Randle is great at finishing through contact, earning 10 And-1’s last season, per DraftExpress.

Rebounding

One of the best rebounders in the NCAA, Randle works extremely hard on the glass. Randle isn’t afraid to use his body and push people around to get position to grab boards on both ends. He finished the season with a 13.3 offensive rebound percentage, and a 24.7 defensive rebound percentage, which bodes well for him moving forward. His 19.2 total rebound percentage would’ve been good enough for ninth overall in the NBA this season, ahead of the likes of Tim Duncan, Kevin Love, Joakim Noah, Zach Randolph and Kenneth Faried to name a few. This bodes extremely well for Randle, as studies have shown that rebounding is one skill that translates the best to the next level.

Weaknesses

Turnovers

One of the areas of Randles game that could be a big concern right now is his turnovers. This season, Randle averages 3.3 turnovers per-40 minutes, which is a troublingly high rate for one of the top power forward prospects in this years draft. He’s still young, but will need to work on when he attacks, and when he decides to pass out, rather than attack double and triple teams. Randle also has a tendency to be a black hole on offense, and when he does pass, he makes lazy passes from time-to-time. It’s an area that with more experience that will undoubtedly improve, but early in his career it could be an issue.

Offensive Repertoire

A gifted offensive player, Randle is going to need to continue to grow his game offensively. At this point, he relies heavily on his strength and agility to give him easy looks inside, but at the next level it’ll be tougher for Randle to get those looks at a consistent rate. He was never very willing to shoot the jumper while at Kentucky, which will be the next big step in his development. He’s so good on the block and inside, he’s going to need to add the jumper to keep defenses honest.

Conclusion

Randle is an absolute animal on the court. He’s a bulldog, and has the potential to be a workhorse. He hits the boards strong, and he has the upside defensively to potentially be very strong on that end of the floor. He’s going to need to work on his handles and decision making, along with growing his offensive game if he wants to be extremely successful like he should be at the NBA level.

With the Magic in need of a power forward, Randle could well be in play for the team. However, with the recent report that he might need foot surgery, would the Magic shy away from him? They’ve shown caution with players who have had injuries before, and foot injuries are never good, especially with big men. If the Magic do decide to take a look at Randle, it’ll have to be with the fourth pick, because it’s highly unlikely he’ll be around come the 12th selection.

Previous Profiles