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Chasson Randle Has NBA Potential Given The Opportunity

By Aaron Ferguson

Feb 20, 2014; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Johnny Dawkins and Stanford Cardinal guard Chasson Randle (5) during the second half against the USC Trojans at Maples Pavilion. Stanford won 80-59. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 20, 2014; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Johnny Dawkins and Stanford Cardinal guard Chasson Randle (5) during the second half against the USC Trojans at Maples Pavilion. Stanford won 80-59. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Chasson Randle is one of the Orlando Summer League’s best performers and is proving that he has NBA potential. Some team needs to give him an opportunity.

Chasson Randle excelled during his high school days at Rock Island High School (Rock Island, IL) where he starred as a four-year starter and earned the prestigious Mr. Basketball award in Illinois. He also led the Rocks — yes, they’re called the Rocks — to their first ever state championship in school history.

Thanks to a successful career at Rock Island, Randle was highly recruited and wound up joining the Stanford Cardinal.

Similar to his high school experience, Randle was a four-year starter at Stanford and was entrusted as head coach Johnny Dawkins’ playmaker. Randle made the postseason in all four years at Stanford, making three NIT appearances and one NCAA Tournament appearance.

Going to the West Coast certainly didn’t help Randle get noticed, despite playing in a number of high-profile games. Stanford was consistently ranked in the top 25 under Randle’s direction, and with good reason.

Randle, 23, finished his career as the Pac-12’s leader in points scored since 1993-94, with 2,375 total points. His final season at Stanford was his best all-around season at Stanford. He averaged 19.6 points, 3.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds while playing 36.4 minutes per game.

His junior season yielded the best shooting season. He had a shooting line of .474/.389/.767 in his most efficient season. He scored 18.8 points in 35.1 minutes per game that season, on his way to leading the Cardinal to the Sweet 16.

Even though Randle is in the books as one of the best players in Pac-12 basketball history, he was never recognized as the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Despite being named Mr. Basketball as a high schooler in Illinois, Randle is a humble man.

Off the basketball court, Randle visits a local juvenile detention center on a regular basis to encourage kids to make something of their lives when given the opportunity, as ESPN‘s C.L. Brown writes.

Randle is a quiet leader, as Dawkins describes in Brown’s article, but a leader that cares about his teammates and others. He began making annual trips to the center upon leaving for Stanford.

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Randle entered the 2015 NBA Draft, but went undrafted. He signed a deal with the Golden State Warriors and joined their NBA Summer League team, but nothing came of it.

Randle, like most basketball players who don’t make the NBA, went overseas to play. He joined CEZ Nymburk who won the Czech Republic Basketball League title on May 23, according to the QC Times.

Randle finds himself getting another opportunity in this year’s Orlando Summer League. He’s playing with the New York Knicks and has been impressive, despite not playing in the team’s first two Summer League games.

In the two games that Randle didn’t play, the Knicks averaged 48.5 points per game. In his first game, the Knicks scored 92 points, with Randle contributing 24 of them.

His line was rather impressive, connecting on 8-of-15 shots from the field and going 6-for-9 from three-point range. He also added five rebounds, five assists, six steals and one block to go along with his 24 points. Not too shabby.

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He followed that up with a 17-point performance in his second Summer League game with the Knicks, a game they lost 95-90. But SB Nation’s Posting and Toasting loves Randle, and you should too. In fact, they call him the “greatest Knicks guard in Summer League history.”

Randle is a scorer and has the ability to play on or off the ball. He has good speed and good decision-making that will only improve as he gains more experience.

His 2016 Summer League experience has been successful, and showcases that he is capable of leading a team and being the scoring point guard teams covet.

The Knicks, like many NBA teams, could use a third point guard with Randle’s talent and leadership. It may help Randle’s case that he’s found great success everywhere he has played, from Rock Island to Stanford to this year’s Summer League.

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Randle has proven that he has game and can contribute on a NBA roster. Now a team needs to give him the opportunity that he deserves.