Former Kentucky Wildcat Julius Randle Breaks His Leg In Game Against Houston

Sorry to start your morning off with bad news. Apparently, while making a move to the basket in a game against the Houston Rockets last night, Julius Randle broke his right leg. According to this ESPN report, it is his right tibia that was affected (also known as the shinbone):

The Lakers said the initial diagnosis by team doctors at Staples Center was a broken tibia. Randle was to undergo further evaluation, and the Lakers said they would provide an update on his status Wednesday.

…

Randle, the 19-year-old former University of Kentucky standout who was selected seventh overall in June, was driving to the basket when his right foot buckled and he collapsed on the court. Scott said he was told that other players heard a "pop" when Randle went down.

Yes, dear reader, I can see you cringing and rubbing your leg just like I did this morning when I first read about it. It goes without saying that this is terrible news for Randle, the Lakers and the Big Blue Nation. Randle was one of the best players John Calipari has ever had here, and to see his career hit such a huge bump in the road so early is extremely frustrating to all of us, and I’m sure to Julius as well.

"Even for myself, being a veteran and dealing with something like this, it’s tough," said [Kobe] Bryant, who missed most of last season with two major injuries. "For him being a 19-year-old kid, it’s tough. That’s what we’re here for. We’re here to pick him up and take it day by day."

It does seem odd that we are seeing so many broken legs over the last few years, from the gruesome injury to Kevin Ware, to Paul George just this past summer and now Julius Randle. It’s alarming to see.

I suspect that Julius will miss most, if not all of this season. One thing we have learned about injuries like this is that the most important thing is to give it proper time to heal. I hope the Lakers insist on that, and I hope Julius understands that his career is better served by giving the injury all the time it needs. Nerlens Noel is the perfect model recently for paying the price in healing time in order to maximize his chances upon recover.

Get well soon, Julius, and don’t get down. The Big Blue Nation has your back.