Julius Randle will return to the basketball court Friday for the first time since suffering a foot injury two days after Thanksgiving.
Randle, a 6-foot-9 senior forward at Prestonwood (TX) Christian, will play in his team’s district playoff game against Bishop Lynch.
“He’s coming back,” his mother, Carolyn Kyles, told USA Today. “He’s really excited. He’s been doing really well in rehab and he’s been full-contact in practice all week. The coaches are saying that he’s looking like he’s on his way to being the old Julius and even better. They’re saying it’s looking great.”
Florida coach Billy Donovan watched Randle work out Thursday and was highly impressed.
“Coach Donovan said he was in there trying to tear the rim off,” Kyles said. “He was excited. I know he’s just happy to be back on the court. I’m proud of him because he didn’t rush it. He probably could’ve come back before now, but he was really mature and waited for the doctor’s OK.”
Randle is considering Kansas, Kentucky, N.C. State, Texas and Oklahoma in addition to Florida.
He recently visited Texas and N.C. State and is expected to be at Kansas this weekend when the Jayhawks host Texas Saturday.
Randle was left off the McDonald’s All-American roster that was announced Thursday, but will play in the Jordan Brand Classic April 13 in Brooklyn.
Photo: NewsOK.com
