Now that the NBA draft is in the books, your 2 main opportunities to see some basketball in the months ahead are the NBA Summer League and The Basketball Tournament. The TBT is an open-application, single-elimination tourney featuring 64 teams and offering $2 million in winner-take-all prize money. There will be 8 regionals during July in Columbus/Greensboro/Lexington/Memphis/Salt Lake City/Wichita/Richmond/Syracuse, followed by the final 3 rounds during August in Chicago. We continue our preview coverage with Jerome Randle, who graduated as the leading scorer in Cal history after leading the program to its 1st conference title in 50 years. He has spent most of the past decade playing pro basketball overseas but will be playing for Eberlein Drive next month as he tries to help them win the $2 million grand prize. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Jerome about winning a conference title and being a great FT shooter.
You grew up in Chicago: what made you choose Cal? If it was my choice at the time I would have stayed close to home. I was a big Dee Brown fan and wanted to attend Illinois but they were more interested in guys like Sherron Collins/Jon Scheyer so I turned them down. Cal was the biggest school to offer me early and I heard that they were part of a guard-led conference. They were consistent in showing me a lot of interest.
You played in all 33 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I always knew that the talent was there: I just needed to learn how to play the game the right way, such as making the correct read on a pick-and-roll. Once I got to Cal I knew that my talent would eventually take the right course.
You played your final 2 years for Hall of Fame coach Mike Montgomery: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He allowed me to be myself. My 1st 2 years Coach Ben Braun was really structured. I was going to leave but after Coach Montgomery took over I just asked him for a chance and believed that he would do the right thing. He put us in a position to be successful.
You also led the school to a conference title and scored 21 PTS in an NCAA tourney win over Louisville: how big a deal was it to win a conference title for the 1st time in 50 years? It was big for me because it was history. To come in and create our own history without anything really given to us was a memorable moment.
You graduated with several career records including 1835 PTS/252 3PM: what is the key to being a great scorer/shooter? I had to work to become that. I was a decent shooter but did not become a great scorer until my junior year. I was really strong so it became easy to shoot deep threes but I still worked really hard every summer.
You also are the best FT shooter in school history at 88.1%, thanks in part to making 40 in a row as a senior: what is the secret to making FTs? During games growing up when I was at the line my mom would yell out, “They are free: that is why they call them free throws!” She made me practice them every night and I tried to make them all because I did not want to hear her yelling at me all the time.
After going undrafted in 2010, you have spent several years abroad where you have won many awards (including LKL Finals MVP in 2016 and NBL MVP in 2017) and in 2018 you became the 1st player to lead the NBL in both PPG/APG since your coach Andrew Gaze did so in 1989: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball overseas? Here in the states the best players are the most athletic but in Europe the best players are the smartest. In college I had to use my ability more than anything else but overseas they have all these strategies to figure out to how to beat your opponent. It was really a positive for me to go abroad and learn the mental part of the game.
In 2017 you were named to the Pac-12 Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? That would have to be up there. I was unable to accept the award in person (which pissed me off a bit!) but to be among the all-time greats like Chauncey Billups was very big for me. I am just happy that they recognized all of my hard work.
Next month you will play for Eberlein Drive in the TBT: how is the team looking, and what will you do with your share of $2 million if you win? The team is looking great! We do not have the exact same roster as last year but we will play hard. We have a lot of great leaders and I am happy to showcase my talent on national TV. I am not a huge spender so if I win any money I will probably just put it in the bank.