Julius Randle recalls lessons learned from Kobe Bryant as he aims to mentor young Nets teammates

NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle was instrumental in the revival of the New York Knicks before he was traded to Minnesota and helped the Timberwolves reach the Western Conference finals.

Back in New York after being traded to the Brooklyn Nets, Randle quickly realized he was surrounded by young players who could benefit from his experience. It made him think back to his early NBA days with the Los Angeles Lakers as a teammate of Kobe Bryant.

“An example for me when I was that age earlier in my career, I had the best example you could have in Kobe,” Randle said Monday. “And I feel like those lessons and just that example that he set for me, that’s carried me throughout my career to where I can be here in Year 13 and I am still trying to improve every single day, get better every single day.”

Randle, 31, was acquired from the Timberwolves in a four-team trade that involved Charlotte sending LaMelo Ball to Minnesota. He raved about the Nets’ young nucleus, including 6-foot-8 guard Egor Demin, who is entering his second season, and guard Mikel Brown Jr., who was taken with the No. 6 pick in this year's draft.

The Nets had an NBA-record five first-round picks in the 2025 draft and went 20-62 last season. They have lost at least 50 games in each of their last three seasons.

But the Knicks had been terrible before Randle guided them to the 2021 playoffs after a seven-year drought. Getting the Nets to the postseason would require helping the young players grow up quickly, and the power forward noticed during a team-bonding summer golf outing in Dallas, his hometown, they needed to learn a thing or two.

“Well, they’re kids, first and foremost," Randle said. "I learned that really, really fast on the golf course and third hole in they were trying to take their shirts off and it’s just like they didn’t understand golf etiquette.

“Mikel broke a club, a driver on one of the holes. I learned really fast that I am dealing with kids. They’re so eager to learn and get better. They’re obviously extremely talented.”

Brown said Randle's story wasn't true but Demin admitted they “broke a couple of clubs.”

Randle has already seen in pickup games how much they know on the court. He has been impressed with the way Brown, who played at Louisville, can “make every single read” in the pick-and-roll.

He is high on Demin's athleticism and shooting efficiency, seeing how playing in Spain at a young age helped him transition his game to the NBA after one year at BYU.

Like other young players Randle has come across since Bryant’s death in 2020, both have asked about the two years he spent alongside the Hall of Famer after arriving in Los Angeles at 19 as the No. 7 pick in the 2014 draft.

“It’s the biggest blessing being around him and being able to carry those lessons into my daily life,” Randle said. “It’s become part of who I am, become part of my fabric and I try to carry. I get those questions all the time and when you’re around somebody that great and they teach you all that he’s taught me, the biggest thing I can do is pass it along.”

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Brooklyn Nets' Mikel Brown Jr. poses for pictures during a media day at the Brooklyn Nets training facility Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Brooklyn Nets' Julius Randle talks to reporters during a media day at the Brooklyn Nets training facility Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A judge on Monday sentenced in absentia 11 commanders of Colombia's largest remaining rebel group to prison for recruiting 60 children as young as 8 into their ranks between 2004 and 2018.

The commanders of the National Liberation Army, ELN, were found guilty of recruiting boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 17. Prosecutors said that some of the girls were sexually abused.

Sentences handed to the rebel leaders ranged from 11 years to 20 years in prison. Some of them recently participated in peace talks with Colombia’s government.

The trial was conducted in absentia because the commanders haven't been captured by Colombia’s government.

One of the leaders who was convicted, Israel Ramírez Pineda, also known by the alias Pablo Beltrán, now lives in Cuba and recently led a delegation that held peace talks with Colombia’s government.

Colombia’s government canceled peace talks with the ELN last year after the group staged a string of attacks in the northeastern Catatumbo region in which at least 80 people were killed.

Human rights groups have pointed out that the recruitment of children by rebel groups and gangs in Colombia continues to be a problem, with these organizations now using social media to lure youth into their ranks.

In 2016, almost 14,000 fighters laid down their weapons following a peace deal between Colombia’s government and the nation’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

But violence has resurfaced in some rural areas where there is little state presence and where groups like the ELN are fighting for control of drug trafficking routes, extortion rackets and illegal mines abandoned by FARC.

According to Colombia’s Human Rights Defenders’ Office, at least 1,500 children have been recruited by armed groups since 2021, with 625 cases reported in 2024. Recruits are given a wide range of tasks that include serving as messengers, gathering intelligence, cooking or engaging with the enemy — while girls are sometimes forced into sexual acts with commanders.

The United Nations has called on social media platforms to share evidence with Colombian prosecutors and take actions aimed at blocking rebel groups from using social media to recruit children. Its human rights office in Colombia welcomed the sentence against the ELN leaders, noting that recruiting children into armed groups is prohibited by international law.

“This is a very important development in the fight against the recruitment of girls and boys,” said Scott Campbell, the representative in Colombia for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. “We have urged the Colombian justice system to investigate, prosecute, and punish those responsible for the recruitment of girls and boys, and welcome this step forward.”

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

FILE - Pablo Beltrán, commander and chief negotiator for the National Liberation Army, ELN, rebel group speaks during a joint news conference with Jose Otty Patiño, chief negotiator for the Colombian government, as a part of the peace talks between both parties in Bogota, Colombia, Oct. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)