The number one recruited basketball player in 2015, reclassified to the class of 2014, committed to the University of Kentucky, was pursued by many of the top-tiered basketball programs in the country, played on the Dominican National team, went up against former Kentucky star Anthony Davis.
We all have seen the recent chapters in the book of 7'1" Karl Anthony Town's life. However, what many fans haven't seen was the precursor to Karl's life before he was big time, prior to everyone knowing how great of a player he would be, before he made his college commitment, better yet, before he was ever considered for the No. 1 position in rankings.
Would you believe me if I told you that before any of his amazing achievements happened, before one national news carrier wrote one article, or a media giant produced one television segment, not many people knew about Karl Towns Jr. at all and more incredible is that many of these big college basketball programs weren't even considering recruiting him?
Now, you can say, "Well, he was just in 8th grade so why would they look?" Anyone who is a big basketball fan knows well enough that colleges are always looking for the next best talent and even Rivals, Scout.com and other top recruiting sites start researching early. However, Karl's rise to fame, his dawning from obscurity along with the discovery of his astonishing talents, stalwart stature and skyrocketing interest in him as a recruit was ignited by a simple game video. Can you believe it? It took just one YouTube video to change his life forever!
The beginning of his journey started with some indecisiveness on "Little Karl's" part. He did not know what he wanted to do, but he had an inkling at the onset that he wanted to pursue some sort of role as an athlete.
"Well before everything got big, I was unsure about my life and I didn't know what I wanted to do," Towns said, "Initially I wanted to be a baseball star. That didn't work out; I took a break from basketball two years ago and returned to intense training last year. My decision didn't hurt my cause. The life that I lived wasn't easy but it got me to this point."
Confronting a fork in the road certainly didn't make Karl's journey any easier; the time he had taken off set him back just a bit, however undaunted by obstacles, Towns was eager to put in the extra work it would take to make up for the time away from basketball.
"Baseball kept me in shape physically but I just had to work that much harder in the gym by myself and with my dad to improve my game." Towns stated, "I think at the end of the day, the break I took was needed because it increased my love for basketball."
During this rebuilding period, although Karl played up with older teammates on his AAU team, he was only getting a few looks from colleges. It's almost unimaginable to conceive the notion that only a couple of schools were even considering the then 6 foot 9 inch basketball player at that time.
"A little bit of college coaches were looking at me, but the video that significantly transformed my life and helped take me over the top exposure-wise was the BoxofMess video," Towns explained, "it opened some many doors for me, it allowed me to get recruited by better programs and have higher-tiered teams come after me. At the end of the day, boxofmess.com's video is where I got my big start!"
Fast forward a couple chapters and two whole years later, we are now at the current day, and it is December 4, 2012-the biggest moment of Karl Towns Jr's life; his verbal commitment announcement! The great thing about this young man is his humility, integrity and honor. Even with all of the tremendous media attention his talents have garnered, the first thing Karl spoke of was using his newfound fame and recognition to help out his fellow teammates at St. Joseph High School (Metuchen, NJ).
Instead of using it just for himself, Town's was absolutely happy to unselfishly share the very "spotlight" that shined on him now with television cameras glaring, and to move the light onto his basketball teammates to help them get noticed too.
"All of the exposure and all of the publicity I've gained gives my teammates a chance to be seen by the publicity that most don't usually get," Towns explains, "It allows them to showcase their talents even more and not just on a local level but on a national level! I'm very happy for my teammates."
Karl is excited that his basketball brothers will also get every chance to have their dreams come true.
And yes, his teammates have showcased their talents, Jimbo Long is considering schools like Manhattan College, Central Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire; James Ziemba has accepted a baseball scholarship to Duke; Marques Towns has looks from the University of Miami, Seton Hall, Rutgers, and Wade; Baldwin has interest from Rutgers, Seton Hall and Stanford. These are just a few of the schools recruiting members of the 2011 St. Joseph's State Championship team. Karl Towns' unselfishness, team-first mentality and strong motivation to help his teammates out are all stellar personal qualities that this young player will bring to the Big Blue Nation and the University of Kentucky in 2014.
Now, that you are all caught up on this dream come true of a story in the chapters and pages of "The Life of Karl Towns Jr.," for now we will crease the corner page of Karl's his high school career where Towns will continue to excel in the classroom and on the hard court.
We get to eagerly follow Karl along his voyage through the last years of high school enjoying the typical things that teenagers like to do: playing sports, watching movies and hanging out with friends. When asked about future plans, Karl explains, "Right now I'm just going to enjoy the rest of my high school career, make sure I finish strong and get two more State Championship rings if I can."
As Karl continues to live his storybook dream come true, Big Blue Nation fans will gladly support him along the journey as he builds his future pages. Hopefully, even better things are in store for Towns. May his future accomplishments shine even brighter than his present successes, may all good things be in store for this amazingly generous, talented, cultured and intelligent young man.
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