Nation’s No. 2 recruit Julius Randle picks Kentucky Wildcats, rest easy Big Blue Nation

kentuckygamedayr | March 20, 2013 at 1:42 pm | 1 Comment

Photo courtesy of @Rivals.com.

The Big Blue Nation was reeling on Wednesday, following their absence from the 2013 NCAA Tournament and bouncing from the first round of the NIT.

However, one elite high school prospect, Julius Randle, calmed the nerves of ‘Cats fans across the country on Wednesday afternoon when he pledged his commitment to Kentucky.

Julius Randle to Kentucky. WOW. What a freaking class.

— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_CJ) March 20, 2013

Randle is the No. 2 overall prospect for the class of 2013, according to Rivals.com. The announcement is big for Kentucky, but may be even bigger for the Texas Longhorns. Randle and the Harrison twins are the top three players in the state of Texas for ’13, and all three are headed to Lexington.

Well top 3 high school basketball recruits from Texas are headed to Kentucky. Julius Randle joining Harrison twins. #Longhorns? Nope

— Barry Horn (@bhorn55) March 20, 2013

The 6-foot-9, 225 lb. power forward’s commitment to Kentucky completes an epic haul for coach John Calipari and Co. Based on Rivals’ rankings, Calipari has now lured in six of the top 18 players in the nation, and seven in the top 150.

Kentucky also has commitments from No. 4 Aaron Harrison, No. 5 Andrew Harrison, No. 10 James Young, No. 13 Dakari Johnson, No. 18 Marcus Lee and No. 129 Derek Willis.