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SEC: How Will Kentucky Use Karl Towns Jr.?

By DJoumbarey A. Moreau

Jul 15, 2014; Hollywood, CA, USA; Basketball player Karl Towns Jr. of St. Joseph High, N.J. at the 2014 Gatorade high school athlete of the year awards ceremony at the Loews Hollywood Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 15, 2014; Hollywood, CA, USA; Basketball player Karl Towns Jr. of St. Joseph High, N.J. at the 2014 Gatorade high school athlete of the year awards ceremony at the Loews Hollywood Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Positions on the basketball court do not matter. This is a lesson we all have learned in the last few years of watching the NBA. Teams such as the Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns all played position less basketball and all had success in the last few years.

Kentucky
Mar 29, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; McDonalds High School All American center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) poses for photos on portrait day at the Marriott Hotel . Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

Next year the Kentucky Wildcats might have to play position less basketball in order to truly use one of their unique talented players on their roster, freshman Karl Towns Jr. 

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Beginning his freshman year for the Wildcats, Towns listed is listed as a forward and for good reason. He has enough perimeter skills to play multiple positions and has the size at 6’11, 250 pounds to play in the low post.

This season I am highly intrigued on how the Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari is going to use Towns is because of his unique basketball skill. 

During the Big Blue Bahamas tour the Wildcats played against major competition from overseas including the Dominican mational team, the Puerto Rican National team and a professional French basketball team Chalom-Reims. Often the best player on the court was Towns. Like a newborn baby, our eyes finally opened and we got to see a glimpse of what to expect from Towns. 

Without starting one game during the Bahamas exhibition tour, Towns played 19.7 minutes per game and averaged the second highest scoring total for Kentucky with 11 points a game. In addition he shot 55 percent from the field, averaged 6.5 rebounds and also lead Kentucky in blocks. 

On the court, we strategically saw Towns play on the high post when the defense set up in a 2-3 zone. It was an excellent and brilliant decision by Coach Calipari since the way to attack that defensive zone set is by catching the basketball in the high post area. Having Towns operate the offense from there allowed him to decide the best way to attack the defense. 

Towns is a very underrated passer, and when he caught the ball on the free throw line (high post) he was able to attack the 2-3 defense and often found open players such as Devin Booker on the three-point line, Dakari Johnson in the low block and players cutting to the rim. 

In addition because of his quickness, Towns also attacked the defense when he caught the ball in the high post by putting the basketball on the floor and creating shots for himself.

Because he has shown that he will succeed when defenses play a zone against him, I am more interested in seeing how Coach Calipari will give Towns spacing on the court when defenses play him with man to man defense.

If Calipari plays him down low on the block he can thrive because he has a variety of post moves that he can utilize. Towns can finish with either hand in the paint which is an advantage against any opponent he faces. As mentioned above, Towns has perimeter skills that will translate into college. He has enough handle to get the basketball and create shots off of the dribble which is rare for a seven footer to do.

Could he potentially play the stretch four position, or small forward? 

The thought of having Towns, Dakari Johnson and center Willey Cauley-Stein on the floor at the same time is a problem for any school to attempt to defend. Their frontline would stand above 6’11, and would create problems on the court since all of them are athletic. Add in the Harrison twins playing the guard positions and the shortest player on the floor for the Wildcats is 6’5″.

The upside is scary.

Towns could potentially catch the basketball on the 3-point line with enough comfort to handle the basketball and create plays for his teammates. I’m interested in seeing the plays the Coach Calipari will use to create to get him open looks. The offense has to have a lot of movement and screen setting, which are two concepts that Calipari is familiar with.

Next year I also want to see how the minutes are going to get desperesed with all of the talent oozing from this Kentucky team. With a variety of talented big men in Johnson, Cauley-Stein, Marcus Lee and Trey Lyles their is not enough minutes for everyone to play. If Calipari decides to use him on the perimeter he will have a better chance of playing more, however he will have to compete with Junior Alex Poythress who is in a prime position to have a breakout season for Kentucky.

If Coach Calipari decides to bring him off the bench there won’t be a drop off of talent from the first and second team. Coach Calipari has a lot of decisions to make with his roster next year and finding the perfect situation for Towns Jr to thrive in is one.

Thankfully next year, all of these problems are good ones to have. Regardless of whether Towns coming off the bench or in the starting lineup, the Kentucky Wildcats have an NBA lottery (most likely top five) pick on their hands.

Good problems to have indeed.