“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” LSU freshman forward Anthony Randolph’s high school coach, Pat Washington, said the quote from Luke’s gospel guides his and Randolph’s daily lives. “It just means that if God blessed you with all your talent and your abilities, the least you can do is work hard to enhance those abilities and try to do your best,” Randolph said. And Randolph’s former and current coaches and his teammates agree the freshman they call “Ant” has lived up to the inspirational passage. “I thought he’d be able to play, but I didn’t think that he’d have days where he’d drop 24 points and 14 or 15 rebounds,” Washington said. “I thought the rigors of playing against much bigger guys, much more physical guys, in the SEC would take a toll on him, but it hasn’t.” Randolph’s numbers have actually risen lately. He has averaged 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks per game during the past two weeks – including a 24-point, 14-rebound performance against Kentucky’s standout freshman forward Patrick Patterson on Feb. 16. “I think he stacks up great,” said LSU junior forward Garrett Temple. “It seems when he plays against the guys who are supposedly the best freshman bigs, he’s played well.” Temple said he thinks Randolph takes an extra edge into games against other notable freshman. “[Interim] coach [Butch Pierre] helps him get that edge by saying, ‘You know, Anthony, this guy’s supposed to be one of the top big men in the country – until tonight,'” he said. Randolph is familiar with that type of motivation. Washington told a story about the two times Randolph’s team faced prep standout Nate Miles, a four-star prospect committed to Connecticut next season. “I think Nate Miles might be the best basketball player in the state of Texas right now,” Washington said he told Randolph after the first meeting. When the two teams faced again later in the season, Washington said Randolph outscored Miles, 32-12. “After the game, [Randolph] asked me, ‘Who’s the best player in the state, coach?'” Washington said. “I said some kid he’d never heard of – I just said a name – and [Randolph] said, ‘Dang, coach, I’ve got to go get somebody else now?'” Randolph was a highly-touted prospect coming out of high school, recruited by schools such as Kansas, Memphis, and Texas. Randolph said he chose LSU primarily because the family feeling the team exhibited and the relationship he built with Pierre. “I felt comfortable with him,” Randolph said. “He was truthful about it. He didn’t guarantee me playing time and said I’d have to come in and work hard for it. That’s what I needed. I didn’t need anybody to hand me out that.” Temple’s first impression of Randolph was that he fit in with the team despite his quiet demeanor. “I thought he was going to be a guy that maybe didn’t have a lot of sense of humor or personality,” Temple said. “But he’s the total opposite. He’s almost the team clown.” But Randolph’s clown personality is sometimes hidden by a confused or disinterested look. “His default look is very … sad, like he lost his dog or he lost his girlfriend. But that’s just how he looks,” Temple said. “My barber used to always say that Anthony Randolph looks so scared or so sad all the time – even when he’s making a nice move or dunking the ball – but he can look like that all he wants as long as he gets double-doubles.” NBA scouts seem to feel the same way. ESPN’s Chad Ford has Randolph ranked as the No. 7 prospect for the 2008 NBA Draft if he chooses to leave LSU early. “That’s one of the biggest honors,” Randolph said. “That’s what you work for is to be mentioned with the top guys in the nation.” Washington said he does not expect Randolph to leave and doubts Randolph would have skipped college all together if NBA rules had not changed. The NBA agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement in 2005, requiring a player be 19 years old and a year removed from high school graduation, if he completed high school, in the United States to enter the draft. “He may have wanted to go, but I would be more than surprised if [his parents] would have said, ‘Go ahead,'” Washington said.
—-Contact Jerit Roser at [email protected]