Calipari Era: Power Forward #2

By Austin Sutcliffe | Jul 8, 2015

We are winding down on the countdown to the best of the best by position for players under John Calipari. One of the toughest positions to rank has been the power forward. Calipari has brought in an athletic scoring and rebounding monster year after year, and a title run or years played has often had to play a huge role.

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Last week a dynamic left handed scorer who could give you twenty points or a goose egg came in at number three. His inconsistent play hurt his chances of being ranked higher, but his championship run evened it out to give Terrence Jones the number three spot.

"If you recall, originally Jones announced that he was going to Washington to be a Husky. Later that day, a simple phone call to Calipari would sway his decision and he would end up being a Wildcat.Jones came out of the gate hot. Dunking on every team and player that stood in his way, T.J. looked as if he was not only the best player on our team, but maybe even the best player in the country."

Coming in at number two is a similar type of player. Left handed, can dunk on you on the offensive side and get you ten rebounds on the defensive glass. What gave this player the edge was how much he meant to his teams success. Julius Randle meant everything to the 2013-2014 Cats, but it looked as if he was not always a lock for Calipari.

Going into the end of the recruiting period, the Kentucky Wildcats had already signed an enormous class and it did not look like there was enough room. Also, there were many bickering around Texas that Randle and the Harrison twins did not get along. Luckily, those were false reports and Julius joined the twins for an exciting ride.

Randle brought to the Wildcats a toughness that you do not usually see from an 18 year old. He fought through double teams on nearly every possession to score 15 points per game. On the glass he averaged 10.4 rebounds per game leading him to combine for a double double per game.

The stats were impressive, but the regular season was not what Calipari or Randle were expecting. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats were an 8 seed and supposed to lose to Wichita State in the second round. Behind some great shots by Aaron Harrison they ended up making a championship run.

However with out a key offensive rebound from Julius and the kick out to Aaron for a corner three against rival Louisville, the Cinderella run would have been cut short.

Rebounds like that, and the effort that Julius gave every night made him a fan favorite. That big smile he always had did not hurt his cause with the fan base either. He has a great career ahead of him and should be able to return from this injury and have an exciting year. Until the season starts, here are some highlights of the big guy. Come back next week to find out who the best power forward was to play for John Calipari.

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