Karl-Anthony Towns had 13 points, nine rebounds, six blocks and three assists in UK’s 67-50 win over Florida on Saturday. (Chet White, UK Athletics)
Karl-Anthony Towns had people buzzing again.Kenny Payne, Kentucky’s associate head coach, called him “one of the most complete players there is” after he helped lead the Wildcats past Florida and to the first unbeaten regular season for a power-conference team in 39 years. Experts wondered aloud whether such performances could make him the No. 1 overall pick come June’s NBA Draft.Afterward, one reporter asked Towns whether he was “feeling it” after his latest big game, which caught the 6-foot-11 freshman off guard.”Feeling it?” Towns said. “I was feeling the rim a lot. I struggled today.”Struggled, huh? His stat line begs to differ.Towns posted 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists as top-ranked UK (31-0, 18-0 Southeastern Conference) pulled away from Florida (15-16, 8-10 SEC) for a 67-50 win. All Towns could think about, however, were the six shots he missed in 10 attempts, especially his 1-of-5 first-half effort.”Every game I’m not going to be going 7 for 7, 10 for 10, 9 for 9,” Towns said. “The only thing I can take out from this game is a lot of tape to improve my game and also just go back to the drawing board, see what I gotta do to get back.”Towns had set a high standard for himself over the last month, shooting an incredible 80 percent from the field in his previous six outings. That helps explain his seemingly harsh self-critique.”The game’s not always going to be as efficient as always,” Towns said. “But like I said, if one aspect of the game’s not working for you, you gotta go to the other aspect. I’m glad I was able to keep playing defense the way I was playing tonight.”He certainly had the defense covered. Towns blocked six Gator shots in his 27 minutes, helping hold Florida to 42.9-percent shooting and 0.82 points per possession.”Just doing what I do,” Towns said. “I mean, my sister always taught me when one aspect of the game doesn’t work for you, make sure all the (other) aspects work. So I was just trying to be a defender out there, also. The offense was going to catch up and I’m glad it did, but it’s a game where I definitely have to go back to my room and, I guess as we all say, have Karlito chew me out a little bit.”Karlito likely won’t have much to say when UK’s decisive run comes up on tape.”When we needed him to play at the end, he played,” Calipari said.With 10:28 left, the Cats led by a slim 44-41 margin. Towns, however, spearheaded a 9-2 run that lifted the lead to double digits and began the celebration of a historic regular season in Rupp Arena. He scored four points, added two rebounds and a block, and started the spurt rifling a beautiful cross-court pass out of a double team to Devin Booker for a 3-pointer.”He’s got a great feel of how to play,” Florida head coach Billy Donovan said. “And the thing I like about him more than anything is when he does get post trapped, he’s got long arms, he’s got good vision, he’s a good passer for a big man, he seems to be willing to throw it out of the post.”As willing a passer as Towns may be, he still has moments, says Coach Cal, where his judgment falters and he tries to make “hero plays.” His coach won’t stop until those have all disappeared.”Well, look, I keep trying to explain to Karl, ‘You are so good, you don’t have to do anything crazy,’ ” Calipari said. ” ‘So why do you keep trying to do crazy stuff? You’re too good a player.’ “Asked about his “crazy” plays, Towns smiled knowingly. He’s still trying to strike the right balance between aggressiveness and recklessness.”I guess I just play the game,” Towns said. “I don’t have (any) fear and if I have to do something that a lot of people say is very risky I’m kind of the guy that would be the guy who would try to do it. I guess, yeah, that makes me crazy.”Craziness aside, Towns has evolved into a go-to guy of sorts for a Kentucky team with unparalleled depth. There were times early in the season when he blended in, but no more. “It took me some games,” Towns said. “It’s like I said, I went through the process naturally. I didn’t make it artificial. I didn’t try to rush everything. I just let it come to me and as time went on everything started to click.”He’ll take the same approach to the next step Coach Cal is asking him to take.”I’m on him because I want him to be the best,” Calipari said. “I don’t want him to be just a good big; I want him to be the best. He’s working toward that.”