Lakers' Randle on season-ending injury: 'More than anything I'm just motivated'

Los Angeles Lakers rookie Julius Randle spoke to the media on Tuesday for the first time since suffering a broken leg that will end his rookie season after just one game on Wednesday.

Randle brought a very positive attitude to the proceedings, speaking like someone who has already done his time feeling sorry for himself and is eager to push forward. That will take some time, though, as Randle is still about six weeks away from simply moving from two crutches to one. He's also still in a lot of pain, but it gets better day by day.

Randle admitted to feeling pity shortly after the injury, one he said he knew was serious immediately once it happened on the court. He credits teammate Kobe Bryant as having helped pull him out of his funk, and suggested his faith has played a big part in keeping him positive. His teammates and family have also made the whole process easier.

"Honestly, I'm not down, upset," Randle said. "I've had my share of tears, frustration, everything, but I'm over it."

The unfortunate reality of a long-term injury is a lot of idle time spent waiting for the injury to heal. Randle sounds like a mature rookie speaking about his lot in life. In short, he's not going to just sit back, mope, and make ill use of the time.

Less than a week removed from losing his rookie season on opening night, it's pretty impressive that Randle's mature enough to carry that kind of attitude around. Here's hoping he comes back even stronger in 2015-16.