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Julius Randle picks Kentucky

Julius Randle

We shouldn’t be surprised at all, should we?

“Next year, I’ll be playing for the University of Kentucky,” Julius Randle, one of the nation’s top players in the Class of 2013, said on ESPNU this afternoon. He joins a ridiculous recruiting class that already includes Aaron and Andrew Harrison, James Young, Marcus Lee and Dakari Johnson. Coach Cal may not be done, either; he could still end up getting Andrew Wiggins or Aaron Gordon.

“I love all the schools and all the coaches, the final straw was the system, and I felt the system at Kentucky was a great system,” Randle said. “They have a lot of great players going in there, so you’re going to have to battl.e The teams have been a unit, and I played USA basketball with a lot of great players so I think I’ll adjust well.”

“Getting to battle with those guys in practice will make me better.”

How good will Kentucky be next season? Well, I can definitely say that, right now, they will be in a dogfight with Duke for the title of being the Preseason No. 1 team in the country come October. And that’s before knowing if there will be any more recruits joining the program or if any of this year’s freshmen will return.

Those freshmen hinted at a return after last night’s loss to Robert Morris, a game that could have swayed Randle’s decision. If he had watched.

“I did not watch the Kentucky game last night, I was out to dinner with my family,” Randle said with a smile. “But I heard about it.”

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.