The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/89497
■ BASKETBALL RECRUITING senior in the class of 2013 — Plano (Texas) Prestonwood Christian senior power for- ward Julius Randle. He is also consider- ing Florida, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Kentucky, after eliminating North Carolina, Duke, Baylor and Oklahoma State, among others. Randle unofficially visited when West- N ern Carolina played at NC State, and also unofficially visited Duke and North Car- olina in late December 2011, while his high school team played in a tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Wolfpack is hoping for Randle to officially visit during the basketball sea- son, perhaps for the weekend of Jan. 24-26 when North Carolina and ESPN GameDay will be in Raleigh. However, he'll have to see what weekend he is free from playing with Prestonwood Christian. Former NC State player and assistant coach Monte Towe recruited Randle dur- ing his freshman year, and then current second-year head coach Mark Gottfried and assistant coach Orlando Early have made Randle their No. 1 priority in the se- nior class. The Wolfpack coaches watched Randle play in various Nike-sponsored events during the April and July evalua- tion periods, and also the Super Showcase and AAU Nationals in late July at Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Gottfried and Early had an in-home visit with Randle and his family and friends Sept. 9, which was the first day of the fall evaluation period. NC State's two man re- cruiting class of Rivals.com No. 10-ranked senior point guard Anthony Barber of Hampton, Va., and No. 97-ranked senior post player Kyle Washington of Cham- plin, Minn., is No. 13 in the country. The potential addition of Randle and perhaps a center target or two would have the class challenging for the top spot. "Julius is a ball-handling power forward, who can attack the basket and is a better shooter than people realize," Rivals.com re- cruiting analyst Eric Bossi said. "It looks to be wide open in his recruitment. Every week there is a new rumor. One week he's leaning to Kentucky, and then it's Florida or Texas. I think he's a long way from deciding." The 6-9, 240-pounder moved into the Rivals.com top spot following a strong July with the Team Texas Titans. Randle, Chi- cago Simeon High small forward Jabari 114 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Randle, a 6-9, 240-pound power forward from Plano, Texas, has cut his list to six schools — NC State, Florida, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Kentucky. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Parker and Fort Bend (Texas) Travis High point guard Andrew Harrison (a Kentucky commit) are considered the consensus top three players in the class of 2013. "Offensively, there isn't a skill that Randle doesn't have," said longtime talent evaluator and basketball writer Frank Bur- lison of BurlisononBasketball.com. "He's big, powerful, vertically explosive and runs well. He has great hands and great range on his jumper, and is accurate to about 17-18 feet. He drives it hard left to right, and is good but not great in the post. He is defi- nitely more perimeter oriented and a very good passer." Randle has previously officially visited Kentucky and Florida. He checked out Lexington, Ky., when the Wildcats hosted an alumni all-star game of their numerous NBA players Sept. 14-16. Randle and his mother, Carolyn Kyles, both responded in denying the rumors that Kentucky was out of contention and he was eyeing a November signing. Kentucky has landed four of the top 16 players, and five total in 2013, but would still like to add an- other power forward such as Randle, Aaron Gordon of San Jose (Calif.) Archbishop Mitty or Tyler Roberson of Roselle (N.J.) Catholic. Randle took his official visit to Florida Oct. 4-6, a weekend that featured the Ga- tors upsetting LSU 14-6 in football. UF has verbal commitments from top-10 players Kasey Hill and Chris Walker, who play point guard and power forward/center, re- No. 1-Ranked Senior Julius Randle Has NC State In The Mix BY JACEY ZEMBAL C State is one of six schools in con- tention for Rivals.com's No. 1-ranked spectively. Florida also has Virginia Tech small forward transfer Dorian Finney- Smith and South Carolina center transfer Damontre Harris sitting out this season and eligible next year. Randle and NC State freshman shooting guard Rodney Purvis played together on the USA Under-18 squad in Brazil this past June in the FIBA Americas Championship. The team was coached by Florida's Billy Donovan. Randle also planned to unofficially visit Oklahoma Oct. 27, when the Soon- ers hosted No. 5-ranked Notre Dame in football. Former Oklahoma forward Jeff Webster, who played for the Sooners from 1989-94, has been instrumental over the years in helping Randle develop. NC State Wants To Add Size In The Middle NC State hopes to close out the fall with a commit or two at the center position. The Wolfpack is in the final group for each of senior centers Dominic Woodson of Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, BeeJay Anya of Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic and Kennedy Meeks of West Charlotte High. The 6-9, 295-pound Woodson is the high- est ranked of the three, with Rivals.com slotting him as the No. 37 player and No. 2 center in the country. The 6-8, 270-pound Anya is listed at No. 47 overall, while the 6-9, 297-pound Meeks is No. 52. Woodson officially visited NC State for Primetime With The Pack Oct. 12-14, and then followed with a trip to Baylor Oct. 19-21. The Round Rock, Texas, native subsequently canceled his official visit to Oklahoma. Anya took his first official visit to Indi- ana Oct. 19-21 for Hoosier Hysteria and planned to go to NC State Oct. 26-28. Anya unofficially visited NC State for the first time Aug. 30-Sept. 1. Meeks has been a bit of a mystery this fall and is open to the idea of signing in the spring. He made his first official visit to Georgetown Oct. 19-21, and planned to go to UNC Oct. 26-28, NC State Nov. 2-4, and Indiana on a date to be determined. The three centers and Plano (Texas) Pre- stonwood Christian senior power forward Julius Randle are the most visible NC State recruiting targets with the fall signing pe- riod of Nov. 14-21 approaching. Randle has already notified colleges that he'll be waiting until the spring.