When No. 1 Kentucky faces No. 2 Michigan State Tuesday night in Chicago, Wildcats coach John Calipari expects stud freshman Julius Randle to be double-teamed.
“They are going to double-team him and they are going to be really physical,” Calipari said Monday. “They are going to sag and make him take jumpers.”
Why not double-team Randle?
The 6-foot-9 freshman picked up SEC Player of the Week honors Monday after averaging 22.5 points and 15 rebounds in the team’s first two games.
With 45 total points scored on the weekend, Randle has now tallied more points than any other Kentucky freshman in his first two games under Calipari. The previous high was John Wall in 2009-10 who totaled 40 in his first two outings.
The Dallas, Texas, native is the first Wildcat to have consecutive 20-point, 10-rebound games since Patrick Patterson turned the trick in December of 2008. His 23-point, 16-rebound effort in his collegiate debut vs. UNC Asheville was just two points and one rebound shy of matching UK first-game records in both categories. Terrence Jones had 25 points in his opening game, while Sam Bowie pulled down 17 rebounds in 1979 to begin his career.
If MSU does double-team Randle, Calipari said the team’s other post players will have to step up.
“They are going to be really tight, but you have Dakari [Johnson] you can throw it to in the post and even Willie [ Cauley-Stein],” Calipari said. “I mean, we do have some post play.”