Magic Johnson: Can't Go Wrong with Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns—or MSU

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Magic Johnson thinks Duke's Jahlil Okafor and Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns would both make excellent No. 1 picks in June's NBA draft.

"They're both so talented and so young," said the NBA Hall of Famer and Michigan State alum, on hand for the Spartans' 70-63 win over Georgia on Friday. "I would take either one.

"It's all about what Phil wants."

Hold on there.

Phil, as in New York Knicks President Phil Jackson, doesn't have the No. 1 pick locked up just yet. And as we've learned from past NBA draft lotteries, he might not get it even if the Knicks maintain their current spot at the bottom of the NBA standings.

But whether it's Jackson's Knicks or some other lucky team, whoever ends up with the first two picks will be very happy with their options, according to Johnson.

Both Okafor and Towns are freshmen, and it is widely assumed both will declare themselves eligible for the draft when their college seasons are completed.

"Okafor, to me, he uses his body better, plus he can face up to the basket and do some other things. Towns, to me, runs the floor better," Johnson said. "But for either one of them, the basketball IQ is off the charts. Both players know how to play the game. I don't think you can go wrong with either one of them."

Earlier in the week, I wrote an article ranking the top freshmen in the NCAA tournament, with Okafor and Towns finishing one and two respectively.

Here's how I described the Duke big man at No. 1:

"

What he's done: Okafor has been so tremendous that he became the first freshman to win ACC Player of the Year in the conference's storied 61-year history. In 30.5 minutes per game, he's averaging 17.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 blocks while shooting 66.9 percent from the field.

Why he's dangerous: If he gets the ball and the double-team comes, Okafor knows how to pass out of it to one of Duke's many capable perimeter shooters. Dare not to double him, and he'll score. It's pretty much that simple. He's also a formidable presence taking the ball off the glass at both ends and blocking shots. The only downside to his game, which could prove dangerous to Duke if they get deep in the tournament and are involved in a tight game, is his subpar free-throw shooting (51.1 percent).

"

Towns may have been ranked No. 2, but it was noted that he "consistently got better" to the point where it was at least a debatable call between Okafor and his Kentucky counterpart for top spot.

"

What he's done: [...] He doesn't play big minutes because he plays for Kentucky, so his numbers don't compare with Okafor's or other big men at first glance. But he's talented and can get it done in the post.

Why he's dangerous: At 6'11" and 250 pounds with a frame that still could use a little more bulk and muscle, he's scary athletic around the basket. He averages only 20.7 minutes per game, but that's likely to go up in the NCAA tournament, and so will the rest of his numbers (9.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG). He shoots 55.4 percent from the floor and 81.4 percent from the free-throw line, which he gets to frequently. He also leads his team in total blocks with 80 (23rd overall in the nation, fourth among all freshmen).

"

"I think it just depends on what you want. If you want the guy who can consistently score, I think Okafor is the guy who can consistently score," said Johnson, a 12-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA Most Valuable Player. "Towns, we've seen him do well scoring the ball, too, but I think he started coming on later than Okafor. I think Okafor has been doing it from the beginning (of this college basketball season). Towns looked like he got better as the season went along and he found himself."

Speaking of finding themselves, the same can be said of Johnson's Michigan State Spartans. After starting the season out 13-7, including ugly losses to the likes of Texas Southern, head coach Tom Izzo's club is now 24-11 and in the round of 32.

That makes Johnson, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the 1979 Final Four after leading Michigan State to a national championship over Larry Bird and Indiana State, very happy.

"(Izzo) has done an amazing job with the team," Johnson said. "We were inconsistent throughout the year, playing good and then playing bad. And we had a lot of injuries. But Tom has always kept it together, and then he found the combination he was looking for. And then, just like every year it seems like, he got them playing really good basketball at the end of the season.

“We're playing our best ball right now. ... It's all about Coach Izzo and his preparation with the guys, his game plan and how they're executing. So I'm excited about what we can do, if we can just continue to play on this level."

Michigan State, the No. 7 seed in the East Regional, will need to continue playing at a high level. The Spartans face No. 2 Virginia on Sunday afternoon in Charlotte.

All quotes were obtained firsthand.

Joe Menzer has written six books and covered the NBA for 12 seasons, including most of Johnson's career, and now writes about college basketball and other sports for Bleacher Report as well as working as a writer and editor for FoxSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @OneMenz.