Randall II "Itching" to Perform

By Dan Woods - NBL Media

Fresh off of his Summer League win with Portland and his G-League Most Improved Player Award, Adelaide import Craig Randall II has arrived in the City of Churches promising to bring excitement.

The 26-year-old guard hit Australian shores on Tuesday morning and is ready to leap head-first into pre-season with his new side.

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When asked about what he’ll bring to the table in the NBL, Randall II offered a response that will set the tongues of 36ers' fans wagging.

“A lot of excitement, obviously a lot of scoring but then on the defensive end too. A lot of people don’t know that defence is how I really get started, so just a lot of excitement back to Adelaide,” Randall II said.

“[I want] us to win games, get back to the playoffs and have a chance to be in the finals ... just to be that team nobody expects us to be.

[I’m going] to come in and be myself, help the other guys, score when I have to, be a playmaker when I have to, guard the best player when I have to, just be Craig. I’m going to come in and do that and see where everything falls.

“I’m excited to get out there. I’m itching.”

Like most players who impressed in the Summer League, Randall II held talks with a number of NBA sides with the prospect of signing on with them ahead of the upcoming season, but discussions with Adelaide coach CJ Bruton swayed him to come to the NBL.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">?PLAYER SIGNING?<br>We are excited to announce Craig Randall II will join the 36ers Family for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> <br>Full Story ??? <a href="https://t.co/BPz3sx7MS3">https://t.co/BPz3sx7MS3</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreSixers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreSixers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SwoopTheHoop?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SwoopTheHoop</a> <a href="https://t.co/NqaV2bgXPg">pic.twitter.com/NqaV2bgXPg</a></p>&mdash; Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1556392237860171776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“I talked to some teams over Summer League and my agent got in touch with coach (Bruton) and we went from there,” Randall II said.

“I loved coach from the time I talked to him the first time so we got off on the right foot.”

Adelaide are a team that has struggled to leave their mark on the competition in recent seasons, and Randall II is hoping to turn the tide for the 36ers.

An often underestimated asset to have is the ability to know how to win, and Randall II says he received a strong education in winning during the Summer League.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Your 2022 Summer League Champs, the Portland Trail Blazers ? (via <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@trailblazers</a>) <a href="https://t.co/B1whAcEGM3">pic.twitter.com/B1whAcEGM3</a></p>&mdash; Overtime (@overtime) <a href="https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1548776394649268224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“We (Portland) won the Summer League Championship which was fun. It was just a bunch of guys who came together and didn’t really know each other and figured out how to win,” he said.

“This year we’ve got more time this off-season to get to know each other before the season starts. I think being able to know how to win and being able to bring that to this team will be helpful.”