Julius Randle was recently on the Roommates Show, hosted by Knicks players Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson. While on the show, the Knicks forward spilled the beans on all things Knicks, and also delved deep into NBA basketball and life in general. The show would kick off in high spirits, as the Knicks trio recounted instances from their high school and college days.
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Many fans don’t know that Randle was ranked as the top prospect of his class, before Andrew Wiggins re-classified the rankings during his senior season in High School. It was Julius Randle and Jabari Parker who were fighting for the top spot in the country, the two being neck-to-neck at the time. Recalling the ranking situation in his senior year, Randle told his co-hosts,
“It was me and him [Jabari Parker] battling back and forth, and then Andrew Wiggins came bro. When he reclassified up, he had it…Aaron Gordon was four [in the rankings]…Jabari and I were like two and three. I think Jabari would have been two…his sophomore year I remember, he took off.”
Josh Hart would be quick to remind his two teammates of the LeBron camp battles that transpired as well. Talking about the match-up between Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins, Hart said,
“First time at LeBron Camp, it was crazy…at one point I remember it was him[ Jabari Parker] versus Wiggins…everybody was tuning in, everyone was sitting there like, ‘We gotta watch this bro.'”
Randle would end up going 7th in the 2014 draft, behind both Wiggins and Parker. But unlike them, Randle would be drafted into the perfect situation, as an ageing Kobe would end up deeply impacting a young Randle’s growth.
Randle was all praise for Jabari Parker
Randle and Parker go way back, as the duo even battled each other on the AAU circuit as middle schoolers. While on the Roommates Podcast, Randle would express a deep sense of respect for his former high school rival. Talking about Parker, Julius told his two Knicks teammates,
“His sophomore year, I remember, his sophomore year, he took off. He may have hurt his knee or something, ACL in high school or something….he came back and he was just skinny and crazy athletic…he already had skill, he was like Paul Pierce.”
Jabari Parker was a high school legend, with his senior year mixtape being among the most iconic mixtapes of all time. Unbeknown to most, Parker was a late bloomer, as he didn’t catch scouts’ attention till his sophomore year in high school. But once the athleticism kicked in, Parker would be a force to recon with on the hardwood. He would be selected as the 2nd overall pick in the 2014 draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. Parker would never quite live up to his potential, as injuries derailed his career quite early on.
