Towns is definitely better than Okafor as a prospect. Okafor doesn't play defense and that's as a center. That doesn't cut it. Towns has everything you want from a big man.
No. He plays nothing like Boogie. he's much more of a Sullinger type player but without the shot. Finess around the basket, can dunk it at times, but I'm not sure he's going to translate well in the NBA at all. If he goes 1st overall, I see bust.
Towns has skills that are relatively common among big men in the NBA, but Okafor has tools that cannot be taught. His footwork is elite, his capacity for developing an offensive repertoire unparalleled in recent memory. We've seen baseline fadeaways, drives and dishes, and tiptoeing along the baseline for reverse layups that you just don't see in college. That's why the Tim Duncan comps have been thrown out there. Towns could be a shorter version of Tyson Chandler. He made 1ft hook shots against Notre Dame's crappy center. Good for him. That won't translate to the next level. His floor might be higher than Okafor's, but the ceiling is much lower. That's why Okafor will go first in the draft.
This, all of Towns points came in one way via a baby hook against ND's small center who couldn't deny him a position 2 feet near the basket. People always think that Okafor's offense is a done deal, but realize that with a good core, you can develop a lot. Kobe can pull off dream shakes and turn around fade away jumpers because he has the offensive skills and foot work to learn just about anything. Okafor has great quickness, size, better wingspan and reach than Towns. No reason he can't be a decent defender (which he has become in the tourney games so far). Beside, just look how good Marc Gasol is at defense by sole fact that he is big and fundamentally sound.
I was at Friday and Sunday's NCAA tournament games, expecting Okafor to dominate, and was severely disappointed.
I was there too. Watch Kaminsky if you want to see an example of an NCAA big man who's 90% tapped out in terms of his potential and his performance on the court. The NBA isn't excited for what Okafor is, it's what he can be. Like the dancing bear ideal for scouting NFL offensive tackles, the NBA center draft prospect is not graded based on stats but rather his ability to apply technique to his already present elite athleticism. Okafor has the size and length, and he is unnaturally coordinated for his position with a special touch around the basket. Sure, he doesn't know the ins and outs of basketball yet to master pump fakes, hook shots, the up and under, etc. But he's got all the ingredients, something no one else has. Plus, he checks off all the boxes in terms of mental make-up as well. All the reports are that he's an introverted, soft spoken kind of guy who is dedicated to working on his craft. And he is also a grounded kid coming from a great family. Great video to watch if you ever get the chance: http://www.cbssports.com/video/player/collegebasketball/419810371764/0/okafors-family-gives-him-the-strength-to-succeed
Karl Towns has a tremendous skillset and it has been this way for years, maybe you guys only watched him recently in a reduced role? Also, if he plays against an undersized C that's no matchup for him and let's him score right at the rim with ease, why should he try more risky moves on offense that reduce efficiency and his team's chance at winning? If you can score 10-13 with easy moves, why would you do something else?
And btw the two comments I quoted heavily remind me of the comments I read here about Anthony Davis. People clearly only watched these two guys play in a very reduced role on offense at Kentucky and jumped to completely wrong conclusions regarding their skillset. Towns has shown everything on offense before joining Kentucky, please watch older footage. His ceiling is higher than Okafor's imo and he will teach you very wrong in two or three years. Comparing him to Tyson Chandler or similar guys makes it really obvious you never seen anything outside of his Kentucky days.
Davis was way more dominant at Kentucky in every way. He was a consensus 100% number one pick. Townes isn't that... Unquestionably there are items to point at with his game. Doesn't mean you're wrong. He might develop amazingly. But the questions about his game and skill set are legit. And as far as those relate to his offensive game nobody has seen him do what Okafkr has done offensively in college to date. Pretty hard to argue against that.
If Towns doesnt have a better year than Okafor (barring injuries of course for either side) I'll donate $50 to the tip jar! I really think Duke let's Okafor run the offense through him which of course makes his numbers look much better than a team like Kentucky who runs 2 units with 5 guys each. Towns can't match the same output because he's not given the chance to. Put Towns on that Duke squad and I bet you his #s look like Okafor if not better.
[Video] Jahlil Okafor Full Highlights 4.04.2015 Vs. Michigan St 18 Pts, 6 rebs, BIG JAH!!!! Jahlil Okafor Full Highlights 4.04.2015 Vs. Michigan St 18 Pts, 6 rebs, BIG JAH! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrxiRECt-T0
Duke were better with Okafor in the final. His defence is absolutely clueless in this age of spread the floor NBA
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>THIS JUST IN: Jahlil Okafor will enter NBA Draft. He averaged 17.3 Pts, 8.5 Reb on way to national championship. <a href="http://t.co/SslpMKAVCC">pic.twitter.com/SslpMKAVCC</a></p>— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/586275594234634241">April 9, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
[Video] Jahlil Okafor 2015 NBA Draft Scouting Video - Strengths Jahlil Okafor 2015 NBA Draft Scouting Video - Strengths [YOUTUBE]wNgjYxttRL0[/YOUTUBE] Jahlil Okafor 2015 NBA Draft Scouting Video - Weaknesses [YOUTUBE]wSKsrQqq-io[/YOUTUBE]
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hearing Lakers settling in on Jahlil Okafor at No. 2. Told 70-30 they'd take him on Friday. Up to 80-20 today.</p>— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) <a href="https://twitter.com/chadfordinsider/status/613033303403159552">June 22, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">...<a href="https://twitter.com/LakeSquad713">@LakeSquad713</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkHeisler">@MarkHeisler</a> - Here are Jahlil's measurements from Hoop Summit, two USA Basketball camps & LBJ Camp <a href="http://t.co/4rDFlBOOsC">pic.twitter.com/4rDFlBOOsC</a></p>— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevekylerNBA/status/613291215715500032">June 23, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/LakeSquad713">@LakeSquad713</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkHeisler">@MarkHeisler</a> - for comparative purposes here is Dwight Howard pre-draft measures - smaller than Okafor <a href="http://t.co/bjtBWhw3yr">pic.twitter.com/bjtBWhw3yr</a></p>— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevekylerNBA/status/613293228624859136">June 23, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
For some reason, this guy just feels like he's going to bust. I can't see his game fitting into how uptempo the NBA has become.
NBA won't be able to adapt to his game. Not saying that Okafor is the next Shaq, Hakeem, Duncan. But if you have a post player of that caliber, the other team will have to adjust to you, not vice versa.
