Cal's prediction on Towns has come true...and that's amazing

[Cat Ballou]

Around the middle of the season last year, Cal started what seemed to be his typical hyperbole on Towns.

At the time, Okafor had been and clearly was still the best Freshman in college basketball...and then Cal started his hyping of Towns. According to Cal, by the end of the season, Towns was going to be the best Center and the best player in the country - the No. 1 draft pick.

I remember watching a game where Jay Bilas repeated Cal's claims and at the time it seemed somewhat ludicrous - and you could tell that Jay thought it was ludicrous too. Okafor had been the been head and shoulders above Towns in the High School All-Star games and that had continued into their Freshmen year in college.

But Cal took Towns and toughened him up and turned him into a post-up center and addressed all of his biggest weaknesses and all of a sudden he's not just a lottery pick, but the probable No. 1 and a guy who could be a transformative player in the NBA.

I seriously can't imagine how any big man could opt to go anywhere but UK. What Cal and Kenny Payne have done with Cousins, Harrelson, Noel, Kanter, Davis, WCS, Dakari and Towns is pretty incredible.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

To be honest I think were more Center U than PG U.
We have turned out better post players than PG's.

 

[baseball is life]

I was thinking this myself. How many big guys have come to Kentucky since Cal has been here and not got better. Lots better.........maybe Vargas but everybody else has improved bigtime.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

I was thinking this myself. How many big guys have come to Kentucky since Cal has been here and not got better. Lots better.........maybe Vargas but everybody else has improved bigtime.

Can't really say Orton improved much and Dakari maybe perhaps even regressed overall as a sophomore.

 

[GOING FOR #9]

Towns didn't end the year as best player. He was top 5 but not the best. His defensive ability and his ability to shoot from outside (which wasn't part of his college game) are what set him apart from oakafor and make him the most well rounded player of his size in the draft.

 

[GOING FOR #9]

http://m.gazette.com/klee-blog-if-kristaps-porzingis-played-at-kentucky./article/1553682

 

[jrpross]

That is pretty cool. What amazes me is what he did with Willie. He was only a top 40 kind of guy but Cal improved him and figured out how to use him to the point where he is now a top six or seven pick.

 

[Conn501]

Towns didn't end the year as best player. He was top 5 but not the best. His defensive ability and his ability to shoot from outside (which wasn't part of his college game) are what set him apart from oakafor and make him the most well rounded player of his size in the draft.

Actually you've got that backwards. Coming out of high school he was known as an outstanding shooter with little to no post game. The development down low under Cal was nothing short of phenomenal. His defense also improved by leaps and bounds under Cal. Now that KAT is reminding everyone of his jump shot, hes the player with the highest ceiling. A perimeter big guy does not got #1. A beast down low with the ability to hit a deep jumper makes him the most intriguing prospect in some time.

 

[musrat59]

The young man has a great future ahead of him. I just hope he stays healthy.

 

[MSU129]

Towns didn't end the year as best player. He was top 5 but not the best. His defensive ability and his ability to shoot from outside (which wasn't part of his college game) are what set him apart from oakafor and make him the most well rounded player of his size in the draft.

I think you didn't watch the end of the year. There were games where all we did was feed him at the post and he either scored, got fouled, or did both. Cal put him on the block to become better down low because he wasn't worried about his outside game, and if he could prove he could bang down low then that put him above Okafor as the better all around player.

 

[Owen68]

Not bad for a player still learning to walk. When he learns to walk we will be speaking of him with the same awe we have for Michael, Lebron and Kareem.

 

[far_away_fan]

Not bad for a player still learning to walk. When he learns to walk we will be speaking of him with the same awe we have for Michael, Lebron and Kareem.

I'm a big KAT fan, but he almost certainly won't ever be in the same league as those all time greats. In their first game, the first game ever at Pauley Pavilion, the UCLA freshmen featuring Alcindor/Kareem whipped the varsity, two-time defending champions and preseason No. 1, 75-60. Alcindor scored 31 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and blocked seven shots. That was Kareem's FIRST game as a freshman. Lebron's first game as a "freshman" was against the Sacramento Kings. He played 42 minutes, scored 25 pts with 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals against grown-men professionals. Michael's freshman year was probably comparable to that of Towns. Jordan averaged about about 13 points on 54% shooting but played with Sam Perkins, James Worthy, and Matt Doherty so he wasn't exactly featured in the offense. That UNC team had 6 McD's HS All Americans for comparison.

 

[BigBlueTom1]

I'm sure Okafor will take his National Championship and be happy about still being a high draft pick. I'm happy for Towns, but I'd rather have the NC, and I'm sure he would too!

 

[far_away_fan]

Can anyone estimate the fraction of "reliable" mock drafters who have KAT going ahead of Okafor? I'm curious but don't want to do the leg work to check them all out.

 

[Orville Boggs]

Okafor will equal Deandre Jordan in the pro's. KAT has the higher ceiling.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

i

Cal's true genius is RECRUITING the best talent, not developing/creating it.

True. To be fair, he also puts that talent in the best position to succeed. Had Towns gone to say, Florida, is he still overall #1? Maybe. If Goodwin picks Arkansas, is he a first rounder after one year? Would Lamb have been able to bolt at St. John's after two years? Yes, we know the NBA will find a kid regardless of his college choice, but I think what's been notably downplayed is the reality of the boost that comes with playing with other great talent.

It's all debatable, but I think it's deeper than "Cal simply recruits the best". He puts the best guys in positions to succeed, and even if it merely bumps some of them a few draft positions, that's significant in that a few draft positions can be the difference in millions (over the course of the first three years alone) for a lottery pick or a guaranteed contract for guys like Orton, Teague, and Goodwin. When the NBA sees that you can succeed within the context of a team, that's important. It's importance maybe only culminate in boosting a few draft spots, but those few draft spots might make the difference in calmly approaching a rookie season with a guaranteed two year contract, or fighting for survival in the summer leagues.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Side note: If Towns goes overall #1, and Skal follows the next year, how big of an impact does that have on recruiting?

Rose - 2008 overall #1
Wall - 2010 overall #1
Davis - 2012 overall #1
Towns - 2015 overall #1 ???
Skal - 2016 overall #1???