Head-to-Toe Breakdown of Final Four Superstar Karl-Anthony Towns

There's not a whole lot of programmatic diversity in this year's Final Four.

Duke. Michigan State. Wisconsin. And our old friend, Kentucky.

For all the upsets on opening weekend, this NCAA tournament has a mighty-chalky finish. 

Maybe these teams as "brands" aren't tremendously galvanizing. But as fans know, their rosters most decidedly are. And when spring turns to summer and the NBA draft takes center stage, the top name in this group just might be Karl-Anthony Towns.

Kentucky's freshman big man has the physical tools and the skills on both ends to make a difference in the pro ranks for a long time. Ready to take a look at all the stuff? Great.

Strengths

Towns attracted the attention of big college programs because of his size (6'11", 250 lbs) and his talents on the offensive end. If he gets the ball anywhere near the rim, he's finishing. And if you're a team that likes to run, Towns will be right there, trailing the point guards and ready to convert. In the half court, he passes well and has a nice jump hook he fires off with a quick release and a spongy touch.

His 10.1 points per game are not eye-popping until you remember he only averaged 20.8 minutes because of Kentucky's deep rotation. His success is better illustrated by his 56.3 shooting percentage from the floor and an absolutely crazy player efficiency rating of 31.2, according to Basketball-Reference.com. 

On defense, he's proven to be a stronger presence for the Cats than they had initially expected. He can jump, rebound and block shots, but as with his offensive attributes, there's more to it than that. 

Rafael Uehara of UpsideMotor describes those defensive abilities:

"

Towns is diligent with his boxout responsibilities. He will tangle arms with the opponent from time to time rather than back him out of his rebounding area but consistently looks to establish inside position. ... Towns has looked comfortable defending in space, showing-and-recovering in control against Texas and flashing good closing speed to effectively contest shots on the perimeter against Louisville.

 

"

Weaknesses

Towns is great now and could be even greater later, but he's not perfect.

His jumper, for example, is not what you'd call a thing of beauty. Towns should feel lucky that big men are not required to be deadly assassins from beyond the arc, where he only manages a 25 percent success rate per 40 minutes.

Fouls are an issue. He's committing an average of 5.7 fouls per 40 minutes played. That's not good.

Steve Helber/Associated Press/Associated Press

And for all his corporeal assets, he's not a freak athlete on every front. He doesn't jump out of the gym and isn't preternaturally strong.

Though he was more physical on defense than expected, he still is not a pure beast.

NBA executives "all agree that Towns needs to improve his lower-body strength because he can easily be moved out of the post," according to a report from New York Daily News columnist Frank Isola, who's based in a town that kind of has a stake in this, given that the terrible Knicks have the inside track on the top pick in the draft.

What it boils down to is that Towns is 19 years old and plays accordingly. Whereas Duke's Jahlil Okafor is a more polished product with a more NBA-ready body and a plug-and-play skill set, Towns still needs some seasoning and maturation. If you're looking for help next year, Okafor is the safer bet. Towns ultimately has the higher ceiling as a franchise player, but he may not be as big of an asset out of the gate.

Intangibles

None of the above should imply that Towns is nothing more than a collection of uncommon physical characteristics. He is a team player with a good basketball IQ. 

He has drawn accolades for his passing and ability to run the floor. Both of those are primarily functions of his excellent court vision and understanding of spacing (though the latter could be more heavily tested in the more complex offensive sets of the NBA).

Steve Helber/Associated Press

When you watch him play, you can see him excel at the little things. You can see him set picks. You can see him box out. You can see him hustle. Even though he can't always absorb big contact, he doesn't fear it, either. And he's a competitive guy. He wants to win.

One problem in this area is confidence. He sometimes seems to get knocked around or to downright shrink in games, though at the same time he has shown a propensity for clutch play (against Notre Dame: 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting, five rebounds, two steals). 

Perhaps most importantly, people around Towns say he has a positive personality and is well-liked by coaches and teammates. Kentucky assistant Barry Rohrssen, quoted in Isola's column, said of Towns: 

"Karl isn’t a good kid, he’s a great kid. He will be successful in anything he does...He never stops working. He’s always looking for ways to improve. You couldn’t ask for a better teammate or kid."

"

Karl-Anthony Towns has a heart as big as his game http://t.co/WPAmvqWMBu

— Fred Aldridge (@FredDaAce) April 1, 2015"

Ideal NBA Role 

This one's not rocket science: He's a center.

Not only because of his size, but because he has shown he is at his best, offensively and defensively, when he is closer to the rim. Pretty open-and-shut on this front.

Draft Outlook 

Towns is currently projected by NBADraft.net as the No. 2 selection behind Okafor in the 2015 draft. That's more or less in line with the conventional wisdom that has prevailed this season.

But hold the phone. Chad Ford, the NBA draft guru at a little outlet called ESPN, now has Towns going tops overall. So does DraftExpress. So does CBS Sports. 

Knicks President Phil Jackson was recently spotted scouting Towns with other team officials. 

But Towns, for his part, is blocking it out like a half-hearted scoop shot.

“Honestly, I really wasn’t looking,” Towns told Isola of Jackson's presence. “I was just focused on practice. I didn’t know.”

So, we shall see. The question will probably come down to what the top-picking organization's brass covets most. Does it want instant production, or does it want a player with the greatest potential over the longer term?

Only the draft lottery and the teams themselves can answer that question, but it seems anything lower than the second overall pick would be a significant surprise.

Towns is that good. He's helping power Kentucky toward a perfect season and a national title and could one day propel an NBA franchise to similar heights.