Published Aug 8, 2006
Randolph ready to move forward
Shay Wildeboor
Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Recruiting Analyst
When it comes to his play on both ends of the court, Anthony Randolph is simply a match up nightmare. The No. 16 ranked player in the class of 2007 has all of the tools to be an extremely special player at the collegiate level. The five-star prospect has decided to head home in order to sit-down with his family to discuss his recruitment.
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For Randolph, the 6-foot-10, 210-pound small forward/shooting guard from Dallas, Texas, the recruiting process has been anything but routine. With programs such as Arizona, Baylor, Connecticut, Duke, Georgetown, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Memphis, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Southern California, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, Wake Forest, SMU and others beating down his door, there is a pressure, which comes from within, to perform and shine on a consistent basis.
Randolph, the No. 2 ranked power forward in the class, has done just that. During his junior campaign at Woodrow Wilson, the highly talented and gifted prospect averaged 20-points, 12 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game.
It was during his junior year at Woodrow Wilson that Randolph emerged as one of the top players in the class. However, after his performance throughout the spring and summer AAU Circuit, there is no doubt that he cemented himself as one of the truly elite players.
Now that the summer circuit is over, Randolph is looking forward to making some decision about his future
"I know that Anthony went home for a quick break," said Ladell Hill, Jr., Anthony's uncle. "School doesn't start until August 14, so he decided to go home and is planning to sit-down with his parents. Anthony and his parents are going to put their heads together and compare some notes and facts about each of the schools that he is looking at right now. I know that they also plan to talk about some official visits during the break."
Randolph has established himself as one of the most heavily sought after players for a variety of reasons. He simply brings so much to the table, some of which can't be taught or learned over a long period of time.
He is long, athletic, skilled and runs the floor like a shooting guard. Furthermore, Randolph can play any of the five positions on the court. It doesn't matter when or where, he is a difference maker on both ends of the court.
"Anthony is a 6-foot-10 shooting guard," said Hill. "I would also call him a small forward because he can play that position as well. A lot of schools have told me that they see Anthony as a shooting guard. He can definitely play the small forward, but he is also a big guard. I would definitely describe Anthony as a match up nightmare.
"Anthony can cause match up problems on the offensive end of the court because of his perimeter game," he added. "If you put a big guy on him, Anthony will use his quickness to beat his defender. He can take a big defender away from the basket and score. If you put a normal sized (6-foot-6) small forward on Anthony, he can take him down low and post up. On defense, he has proven that he can guard all five positions. Anthony is very versatile and you can put him on anybody."
When it comes to the schools involved in his recruitment, Randolph hasn't spent much time, if any, talking about specific programs. At this stage of the process, you're either involved with Randolph, or you're on the outside looking in.
It's been reported that Kansas, Duke, Texas, Memphis and one or two others have emerged as the teams to beat for Randolph. Several believe that he will ultimately select from one of the aforementioned programs. However, it appears that those reports are false.
"Anthony is still wide-open. He isn't favoring one or two schools over any other," he added. "He doesn't have to report to school until August 14, so he is going to talk with his family about the schools he is interested in, talk about some of the schools to visit and then go from there. There are no teams to beat right now. Anthony is really wide-open."
Anthony Randolph Audible: "When he walked in we were really, really glad to have him because you don't see guys like that come through the school every day. I knew who he was and I had seen some clips of him playing, but I didn't know he was as good as he was until I got a chance to actually see him in person." - Pat Washington, Woodrow Wilson HS coach