June 21, 2010
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Last fall, A.J. Rompza (Chicago, Ill.) was asked by a reporter from ESPN The Magazine to name the best guard in the country. He quickly answered Jerome Randle of Cal.
Rompza had good reason to select Randle, who he has been friends with for years. Both are undersized Chicago natives known for their gritty, determined play. Randle backed up Rompza's opinion by having an incredible senior year. He averaged 18.6 points and 4.3 rebounds, was tabbed as the PAC-10 Player of the Year and led the Bears to the NCAA Tournament.
Now Randle is an NBA Draft prospect, and Rompza is hoping that his friend gets the chance to display his talents at the next level. Randle was recently named the MVP of the Porstmouth Invitational Tournament, a pre-draft camp that former UCF star Jermaine Taylor competed in a year ago.
Randle is listed at 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds, slightly bigger than Rompza. Although Randle is more of a shooting guard than a point guard, Romzpa says there are many similarities to their games.
"We are pretty much the same players," Rompza said. "He is super quick. He has an amazing shot. We don't get a lot of respect because of how tall we are. A lot of the players (that the media) talk about, we usually do well against them. But we don't get a lot of the credit."
Rompza talks to Randle on a weekly basis, and says that his friend's success serves as motivation for him to improve as a player.
"Anytime you grow up with someone and you see what they are able to do (is inspiring). The last two summers before he went to college, we played one-on-one. That is all we did. To consider him an NBA prospect is amazing. Just to say that when I went up against him, I did everything to make him better. There is no way that I am as good as he is right now. Hopefully if I can continue to work, I can accomplish some of the things that he has been able to accomplish."
The UCF ticket sales office is currently accepting season-ticket deposits for the campaign at (407) UCF-1000 or online at UCFAthletics.com. By placing their deposit now, fans will receive a free 2010-11 NIKE Knightmare t-shirt with their ticket purchase. Season tickets start at just $99.