Randle’s top priority is fixing Kings’ NBL woes
FACING his former club is the last thing on new Sydney import Jerome Randle’s mind as he focuses on how to help the Kings get off the bottom of the National Basketball League ladder.
The American point guard, who won the league’s MVP award last season, arrived in Sydney from the United States yesterday morning.
His arrival, just three days after that of former NBA big man Jeremy Tyler, should give the 2-7 Kings much-needed firepower and depth heading into a tough road double.
The 30-year-old livewire is set to play against the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong on Thursday before a clash with his old club the 36ers in Adelaide on Saturday.
The resurgent Hawks have won three straight and are the only team to have lost to Sydney this season but won the most recent of their three clashes after losing the first two.
The 36ers have dropped three in a row, the same as Sydney, but have won both of this season’s games against the Kings, thrashing them by 30 points in Adelaide.
Randle’s return to Adelaide is sure to draw a strong response from 36ers fans, who would have been disappointed by his decision to play in Turkey rather than remain with Thursday Illawarra v Sydney Friday Brisbane v Perth Saturday Adelaide v Sydney Cairns v Illawarra Sunday New Zealand v Brisbane Melbourne v Perth the South Australian club.
“I’m not thinking too much about Adelaide, I’m just thinking what I need to do to help this team win,” Randle said at Sydney Airport.
He said he thought there was a chance he would return to play in Australia but hadn’t expected it to be so soon.
“I’m excited to be with the Kings. I know (head coach) Andrew Gaze is like a legend here,” he said.
“The team is struggling right now but every team goes through their ups and downs.
“I’m excited they chose to bring me in and hopefully I can turn things around to help them get to a winning stage.”
Randle has already made contact with Sydney’s two established guards, Jason Cadee and Kevin Lisch, though the latter is still sidelined by a calf injury.
“They are very excited for me being here and I’m excited to be playing alongside those guys,” he said.
Randle’s last competitive game with Turkish club Bahcesehir was almost a month ago.
“I might be a little rusty but that’s no excuse,” he said.
I’M EXCITED THEY CHOSE TO BRING ME IN AND HOPEFULLY I CAN TURN THINGS AROUND TO HELP THEM GET TO A WINNING STAGE
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