Former Cal Star Jerome Randle Out of Danger as Ukraine Endures Invasion by Russia

The 34-year-old former Pac-10 Player of the Year plays professionally in the country.

Jerome Randle, the leading scorer in Cal basketball history, is safely out of war-ravaged Ukraine, where he holds dual citizenship and plays professionally for a team in Kyiv.

Randle, 34, was fortunate to be out of the country before Russia launched a widespread invasion this week. A member of Ukraine’s national team since 2015, Randle joined his teammates in Spain on Tuesday prior to a World Cup qualifying game on Thursday.

Randle posted this on Twitter late Friday night: 

Twitter

Yahoo Sports spoke with Randle, who told them he had been warned by friends and family members in recent weeks as the Russian buildup along the border suggested bad things were coming.

“At least 50 people must have hit me up,” Randle told Yahoo Sports. “They were all saying, ‘You need to get out of there.’ “

Randle explained that because no one was certain an invasion was imminent, professional teams in Ukraine warned players against breaking their contracts.

Jerome Randle playing against Duke in the NCAA tournament / Photo by Bob Donnan, USA Today

“These teams basically held us hostage,” said Randle, who was voted Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2010 after leading Cal to its first conference championship in 50 years. “It was like you either stay over here or you’re not going to be able to play anywhere. That’s pretty messed up. That’s pretty backwards to me. I don’t think that was fair for them to be able to do that.”

Leaders in Ukraine had urged calm for several weeks and it wasn’t until this week that the country’s SuperLeague suspended its schedule.

By then, Randle was on his way to Spain. After the invasion became real, he told Yahoo Sports he assumed the World Cup qualifying game in Cordoba would be canceled.

As he watched Thursday’s horror unfold on television, Randle said he received photos from friends in Ukraine who hid underground because they did not feel safe remaining in their homes.

That evening, the game was played in front of a capacity crowd at the Palacio Vista Alegre arena. A moment of silence was held before and after the game, won 88-74 by the heavily favored Spanish team.

Home fans stood and cheered their visitors, prompting an emotional response from many Ukrainian players, Yahoo Sports reported.

“To see the faces of my Ukrainian teammates, it was pretty emotional,” said Randle, who had 21 points and five assists in the game, according to FIBA. “These guys are super brave to go out and play that game. They were thinking about their families back home and hoping that everybody is OK.”

Rueters spoke with Ukrainian star Artem Pustovyi, who said the team hoped to remain “strong like the whole country.”

“It must be the most difficult day of my life. We were all awake at 5 a.m. with the news about the war and the invasion,” Pustovyi told Reuters. “Nobody could believe what is happening with our country. It is impossible to think about a game when you know your family is in pain with your country being bombed at the same time.”

Randle, whose family is in Chicago, has been released from his contract and plans to sign with a team in Spain or Iran. The point guard has played professionally around the globe over the past decade.

His said thoughts will remain with people in his second home country.

“I feel like an idiot to have actually believed that everything was going to be OK when it wasn’t, and it’s not,” Randle said. “Ukraine is in a bad place right now. I’ve met some really good people here who are afraid for their life. I would be heartbroken if anything happened to them.”

Cover photo of Jerome Randle by Kim Klement, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo