Aaron Harrison's dramatic three-pointer in the waning seconds of tie game against the Michigan Wolverines will go down in history as one of the great clutch moments in Kentucky's basketball history. Unfortunately, the mother of Julius Randle was unable to partake in the celebration and wasn't even in Lucas Oil Stadium after leaving early so that she could catch a flight to Dallas for work on Monday morning. Reportedly, Randle's mother, Carolyn Kyles was in tears as she departed while the Wildcats were down four.
No, it wasn't because she was one of the millions of the skeptics that had didn't believe Calipari's Kentucky squad could reach the Final Four.
Julius Randle's mom had to leave at halftime so she could return to Texas and go to work tomorrow. Randle: "I'm coming home to my mom."
— Ben Roberts (@NextCats) March 30, 2014
No reason has been given yet as to why she wasn't given the day off to watch her son finish the biggest game of his brief basketball career. Randle recorded his customary 16 points, 11 boards, one block, one steal and committed just one turnover, a refreshing stat which has become a trend after his earlier issues during the season. She deserves props for her commitment as a single mother to Randle and her work ethic, when she easily could have quit her job months ago and received thousands of dollars worth of impermissible benefits from a magnanimous Kentucky booster until her son was ready to go pro.
In a few months, she'll be able to tell her bosses to kick rocks after Julius is inevitably drafted in the Top 5 picks of the 2014 NBA Draft. On Saturday, she won't have to leave early when Kentucky plays Wisconsin in the national semifinals because the Final Four is a short drive away in Dallas' AT&T Center.
