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Calipari Era: Power Forward #1

By Austin Sutcliffe

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We are coming to the end of the Calipari era rankings and it is time to crown a king for the power forwards. Many of the power forwards have brought the same type of game to the table, so it took a lot to rank up in this position.

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Last week it took an extreme amount of power, rebounds, and a national championship run to get this player to the two spot. He is left handed and his name is not Terrence Jones… you guessed it, Mr. Julius Randle.

"Going into the end of the recruiting period, the Kentucky Wildcats had already signed an enormous class and it did not look like there was enough room. Also, there were many bickering around Texas that Randle and the Harrison twins did not get along. Luckily, those were false reports and Julius joined the twins for an exciting ride.Randle brought to the Wildcats a toughness that you do not usually see from an 18 year old. He fought through double teams on nearly every possession to score 15 points per game. On the glass he averaged 10.4 rebounds per game leading him to combine for a double double per game."

The player who did it the best under Calipari did not have the stats of Randle due to his sharing of minutes, but he did know how to please the fans like no other. He has been with Coach Calipari since the Dominican Republic olympic days, the number one spot belongs to no other than Karl-Anthony Towns.

Even though his stats will not blow you away, with the amount of minutes he was logging under the platoons, it was pretty impressive. In just 21.1 minutes per game Towns was able to average 10.3 points and 6.69 rebounds a game.

On a team that did not lose until the final four, surrounded with talent… Towns still found a way to shine. When it was a close game and Calipari needed a bucket, it was a right handed hook shot in the post from the big man to secure the game.

Against LSU, it was Towns. When Kentucky’s backs were up against the wall against Notre Dame, Karl came through with his consistent play once again.

Even though Towns has proved himself on the court to earn this spot, it was off the court that really made the case. Karl always knew what to say to the media, and always seemed prepared for any challenge. Above all that, he loved and still does love the Wildcat fan base just as much as they love him. He is always complementing the program and calling his teammates his brothers. He truly is the definition succeeding and proceeding.

We will miss Karl and Karlito next season, but he is off to a new challenge now. Do not be surprised to see him back at Rupp Arena as the “Y” at some point next season. Here is Karl one last time representing the Big Blue Nation as Calipari’s number 1 power forward.

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