By any reasonable measure, Karl-Anthony Towns’ college career started well.Starting on the No. 1 team in the land, Towns was among the nation’s top shot-blockers and even won Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week honors after big games against UT Arlington and Providence. He followed that up with 10 more points in Kentucky’s second top-10 win of the season against Texas.But the Saturday after the victory, Towns had a reaction you might not expect.”I woke up in the morning, brushed my teeth – good hygiene, that’s the biggest thing – and I looked in the mirror and I wanted to be better,” Towns said. “I wanted to do something a little different than what I’m used to.”For Towns, there’s no bigger departure from the norm than abandoning the toothy grin that he’s come to be known for around the Joe Craft Center.”He’s got a very nice smile,” assistant coach Barry Rohrssen said. “He really does.”Fear not, Coach Rohrssen, the smile isn’t going away all the time. Towns, seeking to find an edge to take his game to the next level, decided stash his smile in favor of a scowl during UK’s matchup with Eastern Kentucky on Sunday. Towns’ theory is that he plays his best when he’s mad, so why not take that mentality to tipoff?His logic, it seems, was sound. The freshman was dominant against the Colonels, posting 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, nine rebounds and four blocks. Just as importantly, the performance drew rave reviews from his toughest critic, Karl Sr., which means Junior plans to try the same approach for UK’s next game, a matchup with Columbia (5-2) at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday.”My father liked it,” Towns said. “He said it’s a different person (than) he’s ever seen, so I like it too. I looked at a little bit of tape and I thought it kept me a little bit more focused on the game. I like it. I’m going to keep experimenting with it.”Considering Towns had already established himself among the top NBA Draft prospects in the nation, it’s somewhat of a scary thought if the experiment works. Towns, after that EKU performance that again won him SEC Freshman of the Week honors, is averaging 9.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 18.8 minutes.”You’re always looking for that next step to give your team another help,” Towns said. “I’m just trying to help my team at all causes, at all times.”What Towns has going for him, other than his talent and 6-foot-11 frame, is he’s on a team deep and experienced enough that he can experiment with the best ways to do that without having to worry about carrying the load on his own. “For me it’s been great knowing that I have a security blanket, I guess,” Towns said. “Not everything’s always going to be on my shoulders like it was in high school. The best thing about it is that I put pressure on myself. I want to be the best player I can possibly be. I want to be the best I can be for this team, so I’m putting a lot of pressure just on myself.”Towns’ ultimate goal is to forget the freshman label he’s carrying and play like his veteran teammates, namely Willie Cauley-Stein, who dominated in the win over Texas that prompted his mini-reinvention.”The biggest thing is just don’t be timid,” Towns said. “Go out there and have a ball playing, but also we’re getting to that part of the season now. Games are going to be a lot harder. We gotta do what we gotta do to make sure that we’re the best possible. If this mentality helps me and the team then so be it. I’ll do it every game.”Rohrssen feels the same way, though he still wants Karl to remain Karl off the court.”His priorities always seem in order,” Rohrssen said. “Again, he isn’t just a good player. He’s a wonderful person. He’s so well-liked in this building, among his teammates, on campus, in the community here. Throughout many of the events that we’ve done, Karl has always gone above and beyond even what you ask him to do.”Whether it’s in basketball or in life, going above and beyond is what Towns does. It’s just who he is.”Karl is a bit different, in a good way,” Rohrssen said. “In a very good way.”