Rock
Island drew the short end of the stick and had to play at
Assembly Hall for three games on Sunday. Normally that would be
a great thing, however with the lack of air conditioning had
players moving pretty slow in the Hall.
"I heard they had air conditioning, but
they couldn't turn it on," Randle said as he laughed about the
heat. "I think they need it though, it's pretty hot in here."
Randle played with the Wolves 15 and
under squad for most of the spring, but moved up to the 16 and
under level over Memorial Day weekend after an injury sidelined
16 and under point guard DeAndre McCamey. Randle will be asked
to man the point guard spot in July as well, when the 16 and
under Wolves will play up at the 17 and under level. Although he
was disappointed for McCamey, he says he will try and make the
most of his opportunity.
"I think it's a great opportunity for
me," Randle said. "Coach (Mike) Mullins has wanted me to play
the point ever since I started with the Wolves, so this is a
chance for me to do that."
Rock Island battled on Sunday and won a
couple of games against quality competition, although they also
blew a couple of close games. Randle was disappointed by the
losses, but says that he sees a much better team coming back for
his sophomore season.
"We blew a couple of games, but it
(being competitive) gives us some confidence going into this
season," Randle said. "We didn't have a good season last year,
so we want to have a better year this year."
Chasson started as a freshman at Rock
Island, and made huge strides as the season progressed. Early in
the season he struggled to make the adjustment to varsity
basketball, but as the year went on he became more and more
comfortable. With that comfort, he became more and more
effective as well.
"It was a good experience," Randle
said. "It was a big transition going from 8th grade to 9th
grade. There are a lot of big, strong players in the Western Big
Six, so it was good experience. It helps me a lot going into
next year."
Despite a strong finish to his season
and a solid spring, Randle knows that he has to keep improving
in certain areas. He is strong getting to the basket, but needs
to continue to improve his jump shot.
"I need to work on my pull up jump
shot, and my jump shot overall," Randle said. "I like to
penetrate and if they clamped down I can kick to a teammate."
Recruiting has picked up, and the 2011
star is hearing from a host of schools throughout the Midwest.
Currently, he has only visited the Illinois campus back in April
and has not taken any other visits. He does have a couple of
upcoming visits planned.
"I'm hearing from most of the Big Ten
schools, some Big East and a couple of Pac 10," Randle said.
"I'm planning on going to Purdue on Wednesday and I'm planning
on going to Iowa State on June 21-22."
Although he has yet to receive any
offers, Randle says he would welcome an offer in the near
future.
