Randall Issues "Bubbling Away" For Some Time

The Adelaide 36ers sent shockwaves through the NBL yesterday with their mutual release of firecracker guard Craig Randall II, but NBL analyst Liam Santamaria believes the parting of ways between club and player was a long time coming.

Randall hit the ground running in 36ers colours with their big pre-season win over the Phoenix Suns and dragged Adelaide to victories over Illawarra and Sydney – but his later days at the club were marred in discord surrounding his attitude.

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“It was funny to see a lot of people surprised – almost shocked – that took place in Adelaide when in fact behind the scenes it felt like we’ve been careening to that point for some time,” Santamaria said on NBL Today.

“Ever since the start of pre-season you could see the discontent, the disharmony. Certainly things went really well in the States … [but] there has been this issue bubbling away.

“Craig Randall and his ability to handle adversity, he’s arguing with his teammates and his coaching staff and the like and certainly having come off the bench against the Wildcats things bubbled over against the Wildcats and here we are now.

“I suspect we’ll see him back on a G-League roster at some stage this season doing his thing – scoring a lot of buckets. But if he wants to take that next step with his career, become an international pro over a period of time or even make that leap to the NBA he needs to improve from an attitude perspective in a big, big way.”

Randall is the second import to have been released from his contract in this FIBA international break, with Brisbane also parting ways with guard Devondrick Walker late last week.

With discussion surrounding the status of a number of imports in the league, Santamaria says he’s intrigued to see if any other teams pull the trigger on potential roster changes.

“Now’s the time, for sure. You’ve got this opportunity now a third of the way through the season to finalise your roster and bring someone in,” he said

 We know the Brisbane Bullets are in that market looking for a replacement for Devondrick Walker … we know Melbourne United are in that market. Dean Vickerman’s been very forthright about that over the last month looking for a big.

“I’m also looking to see what may or may not happen at Illawarra to be honest.”