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By: Tyler Adkins
(Also contributing to this article was Erin Ashley Simon)
Karl Towns Jr. is the #1 ranked player in the 2015 class and will be making his decision on where to play college basketball on December 4th. Towns is a 6-11 235 pound big man who plays at St. Joseph High School in New Jersey. Towns is a big man that can hurt you inside and out and according to ESPN has range “to 25 feet.” I caught up with Towns tonight and he spoke about his recruitment that is coming to an end.
Towns has a final list of Kentucky, Florida, Duke, Michigan State, Indiana, Michigan Seton Hall and Rutgers. He plans to cut that list down this weekend and then make his decision on Tuesday. When asked why is deciding early, Towns said: “The decision was weighing on me and my family and I am ready to decide,” also adding “by committing early I think it will help give the school I choose the best chance of winning the all important national championship.” In picking a school, Towns is looking for “a school with great academics and a great basketball program.” However, those aren’t the only two factors that are playing into his decision, “I also want to go somewhere that I can help out in the community.”
Towns played for UK Coach John Calipari this past summer on the Dominican Republic National Team and had a great experience during the summer playing with the older, professional athletes. He also was able to see a different side of Calipari than most see, “he was really compassionate about all of his players, all of them, from me to Al Horford he really showed us how much he cares about people.” That experience has likely advanced his development by playing with the professional players everyday and as a result of playing with that team he was able to spend some time in the UK facilities. Towns said of the UK facilities, “the practice facilities and Rupp Arena are really nice, I really enjoyed getting to practice and play there.”
It has been rumored for a while that Towns is going to re-classify into the 2014 class but he says as of now “I have no idea what I am going to do yet, I am going to talk to my family and we will probably make a decision by the 4th when I commit.” No matter what class he ends up in, he is going to be a dominate player in the class and likely will keep his #1 ranking whether he is in the 2014 or 2015 class.
Towns is a football fan and he also “loves golf.” Even though Towns has never played football he thinks he would have made a good tight end, and with his size it is hard to argue with that point. Towns does have a common interest in cartoons with Archie Goodwin but he is more of a fan of “Looney Toons” rather than Goodwin’s pick of Sponge Bob. When asked what music he would be listening to before a game, he paused briefly then added “probably Mad City by Kendrick Lamar.”
Towns will make one school very happy on Tuesday, and after speaking with him for ten minutes on the phone it is quite clear that based on his personality and his game, he will be a fan favorite of the lucky school from day one.
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