The Timberwolves have a big decision looming after being awarded the top overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Do they take Duke big man Jahlil Okafor or Kentucky phenom Karl-Anthony Towns? If it were up to Wisconsin centre and Wooden Award winner Frank Kaminsky, they'd go Okafor.
"I think Jahlil is a good player,” Kaminsky told SI Now.
“Just the way he plays and how big he is and how strong he is. He's very advanced for his age. If I was going to build a franchise, I’d think about taking either one of them No. 1 overall, but my personal favorite is Jahlil just because I know him more personally."
Kaminsky and his Badgers took down Towns and the undefeated Wildcats in the Final Four before falling to Duke in the national championship.
In the national title game, Okafor battled foul trouble and finished with just 10 points and three rebounds, but in a meeting between Duke and Wisconsin earlier in the year, Okafor posted 13 points and six rebounds when the Badgers were ranked No. 2 in the nation. Towns scored 16 points and grabbed nine boards in Kentucky’s loss to Wisconsin.
When asked if his name should be part of the conversation at No. 1, Kaminsky humbly said “not necessarily.”
"With the way the NBA is set up these days they like the younger prospects, guys who are one-and-dones," he said. "(Towns and Okafor) are both very good players who have very, very bright futures. It will be fun going up against them in the NBA for a while.”
In our latest mock draft, Sporting News has Okafor going No. 1 and Towns No. 2 to the Lakers, while Kaminsky is projected to be taken No. 13 by the Suns.