Julius Randle's high school coach thinks freedom is the tweak

( Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Sports Illustrated columnist Joan Niesen sat down recently with Julius Randle’s high school coach, Chris Mayberry.In the interview Mayberry said he coached Randle for two years and knows him well.

“I think Coach Calipari (and his staff), obviously they know way more than I do about basketball, but as far as Julius is concerned, I’d say that the longer that Coach Cal works with him, he’s going to see that he can give him more freedom,” Mayberry, who’s now head basketball coach at The First Academy in Orlando, said. “That’s how he plays his best basketball, is to have the freedom to do some things. He’s going to make some mistakes, but he can do so many good things.”

Of course, since Cal was ejected from the South Carolina game, he has relaxed his coaching style on the floor bringing back more fun to the game. Cal has given the players more freedom on the court. Since then the Cats have shot off to greatness, proving everyone that said they couldn’t make it wrong.

Mayberry also said during the regular season Randle wasn’t fitting into the puzzle, but now Randle has adjusted his play to be a part of the puzzle instead of him being his own man.

“To be the best player he can be, Randle has to fit into his team, and early in the year, that wasn’t the case for any of Kentucky’s teenage superstars. Now, the pieces are fitting, and Randle just might be the glue that holds Kentucky’s grip on a title together.”

Since Coach Cal took over, Kentucky has that one player who holds the mold together each year (Wall, Knight, Davis, Noel), and their play has determined how that team has done that year. While the first three teams were a success, the entire mold fell apart in 2013 when Noel was injured.

Maybe Mayberry has a point? What do you think?

Read the full article here.

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