Rock Island Today

Former Rock Island star Chasson Randle has signed with the Washington Wizards as a free agent and is headed to training camp with the team.

Randle, who competed in summer league with the New Orleans Pelicans, said he likes his chances of playing backup behind all-star guards John Wall and Bradley Beal.

“I feel like my ability as a playmaker at the 1 or 2, my ability to shoot the basketball and my character make me a guy who they will like,” he told The Dispatch-Argus. “They allow their guards to shoot and make plays and that is my game.”

Randle said the latest stop in his professional journey came down to a choice between playing in Europe or taking another shot at his NBA dreams.

“I saw this opportunity to make it back to the NBA and also to play in the United States and I am looking forward to it,” he said. “It is big time that I am so healthy right now. Having played in those four games with the Pelicans and only getting stronger as I continue to work out has me feeling good.”

Randle’s previous NBA experience includes stints with the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, where he averaged 5.3 points and 1.3 assists over the 2016-17 season.

Randle was recently back in Rock Island for the start of his second annual Chasson’s Big Dream Youth Camp. He remains a legend in the area after sparking his 2011 squad to the Quad-Cities first-ever state championship.

From there, it was off to Stanford, where he led the Cardinal to a National Invitation Tournament title in 2012 and to the Sweet 16 in the NCAAs in 2014.