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Of our great super senior class, only Jerome Randle seems to be legitimately in the running for being drafted tonight (Patrick Christopher is a longshot to get drafted). So Cal fans, this is your place to discuss tonight's NBA Draft in hopes Randle gets that second round pick Monty predicted he would get. Also, basketball fans of all teams and persuasions (college or pro) can congregate and discuss the other picks through the night. Coverage starts at 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, with the actual picks starting a half-hour later (if you're interested in Jerome though, you can probably tune in around 6 PM PT/9 PM ET and still be well within his draft window).
I thought Randle might have a chance after dominating Portsmouth, and his subsequent workouts with several NBA teams indicate the interest is indeed there. Randle has made it clear that even though he's on the fringe of being picked, not getting drafted will only fuel his desire to get better.
"I told myself, 'I'm just going to worry about the things I have control over and (not) really stress over things I really don't have control over' - and I don't have control over teams picking me."
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"A lot of people aren't getting as many workouts as me. They're trying to look for workouts. I'm blessed to say that I have been working out for teams. Hopefully, I've impressed some people enough to draft me."
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"I'm going to make sure people are going to be sorry that they didn't take me, whoever that might be. ... I'm going to show people that I can definitely compete on this level."
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"I've been dealing with so much stuff on so many different levels: People talking bad about me. People say I can't do this, I can't compete here, I can't compete there. ..."I don't think a lot of people would be able to handle that. A lot of people would probably just give up. I'm still moving, man."
That's the Jerome we all know and love.
After the jump, see what the mock draftniks have to say, plus my predictions on teams to watch out for.
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With the next-to-last pick in the draft, DraftExpress has him going to the Orlando Magic.
- Yahoo Sports has him going 42nd to the Miami Heat.
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My NBA Draft has Viking great defensive tackle John Randle going in the last pick of the draft to the Phoenix Suns. I'm not even sure why I'm linking to them after that.
- Hey look, NBA Draft Room also has John Randle from California! I wish I watched that dude play. They also have Christopher on the bubble.
- Hey look, the spelling errors never end. Peter Coclanis of Slam called him Jerome Randall, BARELY A MONTH AFTER BEING INTERVIEWED BY THE SAME MAGAZINE. Maybe RANDLE isn't too far off when it comes to getting disrespected, since most of the people covering this draft seem to be functionally illiterate.
- Most of these drafts are reaching, since I'm pretty sure none of these teams have even worked out Randle, much less contacted him.
Here are the teams that have worked him out: Portland Trailblazers (video), Milwaukee Bucks (with quotes down low), Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers (with video), Utah Jazz (with audio from SLC Dunk), and the Sacramento Kings (with video) as well as the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves & the New Jersey Nets (thanks to Ridiculous Upside). I might be missing one or two, let me know.
Around SB Nation and Other Blogs
Orlando Pinstriped Post discussed the possibility of drafting a point guard.
Josh Robbins and Tania Ganguli spoke with NBA Director of Scouting Ryan Blake about which players in the draft who are likely to be around when the Orlando Magic select at no. 29 could most help the team. He likes point guards Mikhail Torrance and Jerome Randle.
Blazers Edge talks about him as the 10th best fit for the Blazers.
Last year, I poo-pood the idea of the Blazers drafting an instant offense, small, quick point guard from the state of California in Patty Mills and I wound up dead wrong. Randle is cut from a similar cloth and had comparable statistics in college, although he's bigger. There are some question marks in his background but they don't necessarily seem serious. Buchanan did use the phrases "take a risk" and "take a chance" when describing drafting Randle in the second round and handing him the ball on offense. Given what we know about Nate McMillan, those seem like pretty obvious tells. Can't see him picked at #22 or #34 but he's got bounce-around potential.