Adelaide 36ers already working to retain superstar import guard Jerome Randle beyond 2015-16 NBL season

THE Adelaide 36ers are hellbent on retaining exciting playmaking import Jerome Randle beyond the 2015-16 NBL season and already are deep into negotiations with the 175cm superstar.

12/12/15 - Adelaide 36ers v Townsville Crocs at Adelaide Arena. Crocs' Leon Henry defends Adelaide player Jerome Randle. Photo Tom Huntley

THE Adelaide 36ers are hellbent on retaining exciting playmaking import Jerome Randle beyond the 2015-16 NBL season and already are deep into negotiations with the 175cm superstar.

Randle, 28, has been tearing up the NBL since arriving in October as a replacement for injured import Kenyon McNeaill.

Good enough to play NBA but instead caught on its fringe, Randle has endured playing stints in Turkey, Belgium, Israel and Ukraine.

Granted Ukraine citizenship, he represented that country at last year’s EuroBasket tournament.

Australia has been a breath of fresh air to the University of California (Berkeley) star, who ranks second in the league in scoring and assists.

“We are doing everything possible to retain Jerome,” Sixers general manager Guy Hedderwick said.

“I spoke with his agent over the weekend and we want him.

“He’s indicated he wants to stay, that he’s enjoying his basketball again, he’s happy here and his wife is happy here.

“It’s not always about the money.”

That said, Randle is unlikely to come cheaply but his value to the organisation is inestimable.

He has won an immediate huge following with his skill set and never-say-die attitude, a product of his tough upbringing in the crime-heavy southside of Chicago.

Pairing him with Daniel Johnson, who already is signed beyond this season, veteran Anthony Petrie, reliable Brendan Teys and young bucks Nathan Sobey and Matt Hodgson, would give Adelaide a strong nucleus to build on, even before talks with its remaining free agents.

Randle only added to his legacy with 6-of-6 free throws in the final 66 seconds of Friday’s critical 87-81 road win over champion New Zealand.

He already has received the type of fan reaction reserved for the most beloved of superstars, most recently when supporters surrounded the Adelaide Arena court waiting him for to reappear after completing post-game speaking commitments in the Apollo Restaurant.

As he returned, fans spontaneously broke out chanting his name and stomping their feet in largely unprecedented scenes of appreciation.

“We want bums on seats and new sponsors jumping on board,” Hedderwick said.

Randle is the perfect player and person to ensure that keeps happening.

Originally published as Adelaide 36ers already working to retain superstar import guard Jerome Randle beyond 2015-16 NBL season