Julius Randle talks about playing for John Calipari, what makes him special

Julius Randle remains one of John Calipari’s favorite players, and John Calipari is still Julius Randle’s favorite coach.

The former Kentucky Wildcats star hopped on Podcast P with Paul George to reminisce about how important Calipari was to him, both on and off the basketball court. In sharing some of his stories, he compared playing in Lexington to playing in New York with the Knicks.

“They think playing in New York hard bro, playing for Cal is a whole other monster,” Randle laughed. “I wanted to quit basketball bro.”

While Calipari delivers some tough love on the court, Randle recognizes that his coach always had his back, and still does to this day, and that’s something the former Wildcats star doesn’t take for granted.

“What makes Cal so good man is his ability to, and I was talking to Aaron about this the other day, when you’re choosing a college, and you don’t realize it, but you’ve got to choose somebody who knows how to lead young men,” explained Randle. “That was his biggest thing. Like on the court, he’s going to push you. He’s going to cuss you out. He’s going to dog you. Mentally push you there. But like a lot of the stuff he says translates to life.

“One of the biggest things I learned from him when I was there is learning how to be accountable. You can’t control what he does, you can’t control what he does, but you can be accountable for what you do every day. That’s basketball, that’s life. But he teaches you how to be like a man. So like my mom felt good sending me there, and knew that he was going to take care of me like I was one of his own.”

Additionally, Randle shared an awesome anecdote about just how much Calipari does for his players, whether you’re still suiting up for Kentucky or not.

“The dope thing about him too is bro, like that relationship lasts forever,” added the Knicks star. “Like I called him last year. I needed help with something. Somebody in my family, or somebody in my wife’s family in Kentucky got sick, and Cal like, he like the mayor in Kentucky. Whatever, he can call anybody and anything going to happen. He took care of my family out there. He’d check up on you. He’d come to Knicks games.

“He a real one bro. Like that relationship don’t die just because you leave Kentucky bro.”

It’s easy to see why John Calipari has been so success in the sport of basketball. Julius Randle and the rest of his former Kentucky Wildcats players continue to hold him in high regard, and that’s not going to change.