Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Kentucky’s Towns Solidifies Top-3 Status With Stellar Play Against Florida
Kentucky freshman big man Karl-Anthony Towns helped solidify his status as a top-3 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft with his stellar play in the No. 1 Wildcats’ 68-61 victory at Florida.
The New Jersey native went for 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks as Kentucky remained unbeaten at 23-0, 10-0 in the SEC.
“I thought Karl is finally showing the signs that he’s as good as anybody in the country,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said on ESPN.
Towns has generally been regarded as a top-3 pick, although DraftExpress.com currently has him at No. 4 behind Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay.
“He’s a top-3 pick along with Okafor and Russell,” one NBA scout who watched the game said of Towns. “He is a very skilled big man.”
As I wrote in this story on TheKnicksBlog.com, you can make the case that Towns has a bigger upside going forward than Okafor, who went for 20 points and 10 rebounds earlier Saturday as Duke crushed Notre Dame, 90-60.
Meantime, sophomore guard Aaron Harrison also came up big for Kentucky, going for 23 points in the win, including 18 in the second half.
“Aaron Harrison was unbelievable and made every big play that we needed to make,” Calipari said.
Harrison is projected by DraftExpress.com as the No. 55 pick in the Draft.
“Playing better,” the NBA scout said. “Still a second-round pick at best.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.