Freshman Julius Randle has earned Southeastern Conference Player of the Week accolades to open the 2013-14 season it was announced by the league office on Monday.
Randle averaged 22.5 points and 15.0 rebounds per game with a pair of double-doubles in UK’s two home victories.
With 45 total points scored on the weekend, he has now tallied more points than any other UK freshman in his first two games under John 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 has 25 points in his opening game, while Sam Bowie pulled down 17 rebounds in 1979 to begin his career.
Randle visited the charity stripe 27 times this weekend, making 21. He had at least 10 made free throws in both games. Furthermore, his three assists against Northern Kentucky was a squad-best.
The Wildcats are back in action on Tuesday, as UK travels to Chicago for the Champions Classic in a showdown with No. 2 Michigan State. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip and will air live on ESPN.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter’s Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.