Julius Randle has taken a couple of visits so far in his recruitment and there is a report that the second visit he made is in the lead.
Florida and Billy Donovan are reportedly in the lead for the Rivals.com #1 player in the 2013 class.
A source close to Randle’s recruitment informs Busting Brackets that Florida and Texas, not Kentucky, are the two leaders for Randle’s services at this time.
The coveted Texan who runs with the Texas Titans during the summer is targeting a spring decision, when he’ll choose between Florida, Texas, Kentucky, Kansas, NC State and Oklahoma. To the surprise of many, Randle recently eliminated Duke and North Carolina—two schools that had at one point been considered major players in this race—from contention.
Randle took his second official visit to Florida (his first was to Lexington) earlier this month for the school’s gridiron showdown against LSU. He has forged a strong relationship with UF head coach Billy Donovan, who coached him on the U.S. Under-18 team at the FIBA Americas Championship last summer.
Texas, meanwhile, offers the close-to-home factor and an opportunity for Randle to shine in the frontcourt without interference. The Longhorns have pushed hard to land the Prestonwood High School star, and remain the only Texas school in play after Randle scratched off Baylor from his list.
Of the two schools, Florida, the source surmises, is the favorite at this juncture in the recruitment thanks to the strong bond Randle has developed with Donovan. Kentucky and dark horse NC State are also very much in the running.
If you have followed this recruitment, you know many thought Duke was the leader for Julius Randle, but he cut them and North Carolina recently off of his list.
With this probably being a spring decision, I’m not too worried about where he is leaning now, if he is actually leaning that way at all.
Jason Jordan of USA Today tweeted this yesterday, right about the time this article was released.
Just got this text from an elite recruit: “i just read on (??) that (??) leads for me. haha such a lie! what do these guys be talkin about?”
— Jason Jordan (@JayJayUSATODAY) October 18, 2012
Was it from Julius Randle? We don’t know, but Jordan is close with him and the timing is ironic.
Hard to bet against John Calipari in recruiting, so I think the BBN should just be patient till Spring.
