To the surprise of virtually no one, Kentucky was picked to win the SEC, while Kentucky freshman forward Julius Randle was named the league’s Preseason Player of the Year.
Kentucky coach John Calipari has said he plans to play the 6-foot-9, 250-pound Randle away from the basket to help prepare him for the NBA. Randle is projected as the No. 2 pick in next year’s draft behind Andrew Wiggins of Kansas by DraftExpress.com.
“Well, what’s happening right now, we’re playing him in a position as though he’s a two or a three,” Calipari said at UK media day. “So he’s just now getting comfortable being — starting from 20 feet out.”
Calipari added: “He’s 6-9, 250, and he’s skilled. But I don’t want to play him under the basket. That’s not preparing him for what’s ahead for him. I could play him at seven feet and try to win college games, tell him, I’m really helping you, or I can make him play out on the floor like we did Patrick Patterson. Do you remember Patrick went from standing under the basket to playing at the top of the key offensively? So it’s going to take him time.”
Playing alongside a slew of future first-round picks, Randle is still getting used to the new role after dominating down low for much of his career.
“In workouts I pretty much work on everything from shooting the ball, shooting the ball off the dribble, coming to one-two stops, shooting floaters right- and left-handed,” Randle said. “Just have to keep working on that stuff and be patient enough to know it will work out.”
Randle said he trusts Calipari will point him in the right direction.
“He is not going to tell you everything you want to hear,” Randle said. “But at the end of the day you know it is what is best for you. I came here because I trusted him so I am going to do what he says. It can be difficult because you want to do things your own way, but from what I have learned so far in practice if you keep working on it and working on it the way he teaches you to do it then it starts to work out and you start getting good at it.”
