There will be much debate this college basketball season over the three heralded freshmen Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle and Jabari Parker. Ask any NBA analyst or scout and they'll tell you one of them will be going number one overall in April. Some may say Marcus Smart is making a push early on to be included in that group, but lets be honest. That ain't happening. One of the freshman phenoms will be given the honor of hearing his name called first, and that first name read will be......Julius Randle.
All the hype this summer came in on Wiggins like he was LeBron. Well, he's not. Not even close. No one on the planet is close to LBJ and while that may be an unfair way to criticize Wiggins, he also looks like the third best of the freshman, something that not a lot of people expected to see. He stole headlines from Jabari once he reclassified and everyone got a look at his athleticism. While that has been on full display so far at Kansas, nothing much else has been. Wiggins looks too small to play the four spot and not a good enough ball handler to play the three. He looks small by college standards much less NBA standards and his shot early on has been less than impressive. Couple that with the fact that Bill Self has never done well developing one and done players and Wiggins will find himself being picked 3rd in the draft, and don't let the hype tell you any different.
Now about that guy who Wiggins stole all the headlines from, Jabari Parker. The mormon sensation has lived up to and exceeded his hype early on in Coach K's system and while he may have benefited from added hype given to Wiggins, he has blown people away. Comparisons have been drawn to Melo and rightly so and Parker can shoot from anywhere on the floor with confidence and has underrated athleticism for such a tall guy at 6'9''. The Melo comparison doesn't stop there unfortunately, one reason the comp works so well is that like Melo, Parker has been lackluster on the defensive end of the floor. You see Parker catch a lob and while you're still watching the replay, he's giving up a drive and an offensive board on the other end of the floor. He has time to improve that facet of his game he will have to in order to be the number one pick. Like Wiggins, there is also some debate over whether he should play the small or power forward position at the next level. Parker very well could be the top pick, but if he has a few off nights against good opponents, or starts chucking up bad shots the media will jump all over him and scouts will be more than aware of it.
So who does that leave, you know it, Julius Randle. I can hear it now, as Adam Silver announces his name and he walks to the stage with that big Julius smile on his face. While all three of these players could be a worthy number one pick, only one has the size, strength, and total game to be absolutely NBA ready. Julius Randle is a more athletic Chris Webber, and as a Chris Webber fan I don't give that compliment out lightly. Randle has the size and brute strength that not many NBA stars posses and HE'S ONLY 19. Yeah. That's ridiculous. Not only does Randle have a hell of a post game already, he has the coach who will develop him more in his one year than any other coach in the country could in John Calipari. Calipari has shown he knows how to prepare his players for the next level in one year. Just ask Derrick Rose, John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, and Anthony Davis. Cal is working with Randle on his game away from the basket and that will make him just about unguardable. Randle already has a smooth mid-range jumper and can hit the three when it's open if he has consistently take big men off the dribble AND beat them up down low, he will be unstoppable in college as well as against most players in the NBA. Bow down basketball world, Julius Randle is your next big star, and your number one pick.
Let's all take a step back and remember Williams is only 22 years old and still has plenty of time to develop in this league. He may not be a star or even live up to the hype of being the second overall pick, but come on would you rather have Mbah a Moute? Have you ever even heard that name before I just typed it? That,s what I thought. If Williams gets a chance in Sactown to play alongside Boogie Cousins and be the stretch four/three he is built to be then he can be a hell of a bargain for the Kings and could prove many of us in the basketball world wrong. Not only will he get to play with a down low center like Cousins, he will also have veterans Chuck Hayes and Patrick Patterson in Sacramento to mentor him. With all those helping hands and a solid role for him to play on the court, we could see the Derrick Williams we saw at Arizona and the one we expected to see his rookie season in Minnesota.
