Rush The Court

Kentucky’s pursuit of perfection is a notable storyline in college basketball this season, but the quest for National Championship No. 9 carries a lot more significance to Wildcats fans. Continued development from big man Karl-Anthony Towns might ensure both. Towns’ improved toughness, better passing, and a flurry of developing post moves gives Kentucky better offensive production from the low blocks and further opens up the three-point shot when opposing defenses are forced to collapse on him.

Towns has played his best basketball of the season in the last three games. His rebounding and shot-blocking have remained consistent, but he is scoring better than at any other stretch this year. Towns’ solid mid-range jumper gives head coach John Calipari the ability to use his big man at the top of the key, and his improved passing is evident in an accompanying increase in assists per game. In this edition of Freeze Frame, we look at the many different ways that Karl-Anthony Towns can hurt opposing teams, and why his sustained improvement on the offensive end of the floor could be key to the Wildcats cutting down the nets in April.

Towns’ height advantage and scoring efficiency on the block against Florida caused the Gators to double-team him every time he touched the ball in the paint. That extra attention helped his teammates find open space for themselves. In the below play, Towns spins into the lane but the Florida defense gives Kentucky guards Dominique Hawkins, Andrew Harrison, and even Aaron Harrison (a capable, but streaky outside shooter) space on the perimeter in order to take away his shot. Unfortunately for the Gators, this strategy does not work as Towns makes a hook shot and gets fouled.

So how would Florida react if Kentucky instead placed Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis on the perimeter ready to get their shots off? Keep in mind that Booker (47%) and Ulis (45%) are the Wildcats’ best shooters from beyond the arc. Booker is in position here, but Florida’s Michael Frazier stays by his side to prevent him from the open look. The other four defenders, however, surround Towns, forcing him to give up the ball.

In the next play, all eyes are on Towns in the post, but Florida guard Kasey Hill avoids collapsing to stay within distance of Ulis.

At halftime Kentucky made some adjustments to incorporate more high-low action between fellow big man Willie Cauley-Stein and Towns. Here, Cauley-Stein breaks from the high post to the basket as soon as Towns receives the ball on the low block. It is not just the perimeter option that opens up here, but the double-, triple-, and quadruple-teams on Towns also opens up the lane for a cutter. Towns’ improved passing skill gives Calipari the nice option to use the big as a playmaker, as he does here when Towns delivers an over-the-shoulder rocket for an easy two.

Despite his offensive improvement, let’s not forget about Towns’ defense. He has maintained a 12.9 percent block rate on the season while remaining a strong defensive rebounder. That skill set is a tall order, as only two other Kentucky players have been able to maintain a block percentage over 10.0 percent and a defensive rebounding rate over 20.0 percent since 2004 (when Ken Pomeroy started tracking his advanced statistics). Any guesses as to who they are? Anthony Davis in 2011-12 and Nerlens Noel in 2012-13 are the pair who accomplished that feat. As it turns out, only three other major conference players are in Towns’ range, one of whom (Upshaw) is no longer playing college basketball.

Towns has played his best offensive basketball of the season over the past week, and his season-long defensive acumen contributes to a historically efficient unit. Kentucky’s half-court offense, however, does not typically receive the same accolades. With Towns’ clear improvement and the greater consistency that he has shown over the past three games, Kentucky’s offense could be the side of the game we spend all March talking about.