Karl-Anthony Towns could be No. 1 NBA pick
LEXINGTON, Ky. – First things first: Molding Karl-Anthony Towns into a great college basketball player is not like turning old hubcaps and scrap metal into a work of unexpected art. He came to Kentucky as a 6-foot-11 McDonald's All-American with abnormally polished skills for that size.
He needed refining, not reforming. But make no mistake, the finishing touches are critical – to Towns' dreams of NBA stardom and to the top-ranked Wildcats' pursuit of a perfect season. So coach John Calipari has been hard at work on his freshman forward, not with blow torch but careful chisel.
And now something remarkable is emerging. Perhaps even a No. 1 overall draft pick.
"Karl is playing absolutely amazing. It's a process that, if you follow it from beginning to end, the result can be very rewarding," Towns' father and first coach, Karl Sr., said. "Karl followed Cal's process, he listened to the coaches and what was demanded of him, and he looks great right now. I can see a big difference.
"I love those coaches. What they've done with Karl's transition from high school to his 28th college game has been unbelievable. Everybody can see the transformation."
Again, these were hardly raw materials. Towns has been a projected top-five pick in the 2015 NBA draft since the day he stepped on campus. But pro opinions on him wavered midway through the season when Towns performed a few vanishing acts and got pushed around at times despite a muscular, 250-pound body.
"It took me some time. It's a different physicality," he now admits. "You just gotta adjust. That's really it. There's no excuses to be made."
Halfway through the season, he'd grabbed four or fewer rebounds 10 times. He closed out January on a five-game skid in which he managed only 11 total boards and averaged just 6.6 points. The college game challenged Towns – a rare elite prospect who hadn't played on the hyper-competitive AAU circuit – in a way he'd yet to experience.
But that, he said, is why he came to Kentucky. To play for a demanding coach and practice against two other 7-footers who are projected NBA first-rounders. Towns embraced the struggle.
"This is more fun," he said. "I love challenges. Growing up, all I had was challenges. So just having a challenge like this, it makes it even more fun and even more rewarding."
Of course, that's easier to say now, on the sunnier side of a slump that saw Towns shoot just 42 percent from Dec. 10 to Jan. 29 and attempt five or fewer shots in 6 of 12 games. (Compare that to nine-plus shots in four of the last six games.)
"A month ago, I would be saying, 'Towns is scaring me a little bit. He's not being very aggressive offensively,' " ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford said. "But that's the thing that's stood out to me lately: He's been more aggressive looking for his shot."
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He's been more aggressive all around the last three weeks. Offensively, he's unleashed the full arsenal – post-up spin moves, swished hook shots, driving layups, elbow jump shots, violent slams above a crowd – but he's also crashing the glass and power-spiking opponents' shots.
"He's starting to be the best version of himself," Calipari said.
In his last six games, despite a three-point night at Tennessee because of foul trouble, Towns is averaging 12.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.7 assists in just 23.7 minutes. He's posted three double-doubles in that stretch, is shooting 63.8 percent from the field and has made 17 of 18 free throws, which is nearly unheard of at his size.
Not surprisingly, Towns' demeanor has changed, too. He's more confident on the court, playful in postgame interviews, and even has a new imaginary friend, Karlito, the little man on his shoulder with whom he shares credit for this recent outburst.
"I think that's the biggest thing," assistant coach Kenny Payne said, "being comfortable in his skin, being around other players and the growth of it all. He's grown a lot since he's been here. Cal has been really hard on Karl, pushing Karl to be great. For a 17-year-old kid or 18-year-old kid who's really 13 (emotionally), that's hard.
"But out of all the kids, he's probably made the easiest adjustment to it. He wants to please Cal. He wants to please all of us."
As he does that, Towns also happens to be pleasing pro scouts again. While he didn't have far to climb, he's nonetheless moving up draft boards. Both ESPN's Ford and DraftExpress.com now project Towns to go No. 2 overall this summer. And that's no longer his ceiling. Duke center Jahlil Okafor has long been considered a lock for the top spot, but his grip is suddenly loosening.
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"Jahlil was always the better offensive option and Karl was always the better defensive option for big men," Ford said. "But while Okafor hasn't really improved at all defensively, you've seen Towns improve considerably offensively. If Towns can be equally effective offensively, he is a better prospect than Okafor. He's more athletic, a better rebounder, shot blocker, defender than Okafor will be. He's more fluid as a player."
Ford called it "crazy" that a near 7-footer has hit 94.4 percent of his free throws the last six games and noted that Towns's field-goal percentage around the basket is an impressive 73.5 percent for the season. He says all this to note that, if the eyeball test isn't enough, "I think the (NBA) analytics guys are in Towns' corner" over Okafor.
"Now, I'm not dogging Okafor, because I'm not sure I've ever seen a freshman as skilled as he is on the low block offensively," Ford said. "He's going to be big-time. He's going to be able to score the basketball in the NBA. But I think Towns could be the more complete player, and that's compelling. I think this is going to get really interesting."
Especially if what Towns – who wants to be listed as a 7-footer – keeps saying is true: "I'm still growing."
"You have to understand, he's physically nowhere near what he's going to be like in two or three years," Calipari said. "When he gets that weight in his butt, in his thighs that he's gonna have, now it becomes another one of those kids you look at and you say, 'Oh, my gosh, I didn't realize he was gonna be like this.' "
Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.