Prospect Watch: Towns taking aim at Okafor, No. 1 spot

It was only 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

The relatively modest statistical output of Kentucky center Karl-Anthony Towns continued on Wednesday with the Wildcats steamrolling Mississippi State, with Towns getting just five field-goal attempts in 26 minutes with which to flash his emerging offensive game.

Averages of 9.3 points and 6.6 rebounds haven't been humble enough to keep scouts from becoming more and more enamored with Towns, who's also averaging 2.4 blocks and shooting 55.3 percent from the floor. He's making a strong push to stay among the top-three on draft night and could even be challenging Duke's Jahlil Okafor for the No. 1 spot on some teams' boards.

Okafor's production has been far more robust at 18.4 points and 9.4 rebounds, and he's shooting 66.5 percent, proving himself college basketball's most dominant interior scorer. But Okafor's getting 50 percent more playing time than Towns and nearly double the offensive looks, so a straight comparison is somewhat useless.

Towns' numbers come in only 20.3 minutes because of Kentucky's remarkable depth and hockey-like line changes between their five-man platoons. They likewise mute the production of teammate Willie Cauley-Stein, himself a likely top-10 pick, but Towns' game doesn't require gaudy statistics to appreciate.

Okafor may be more refined offensively and more ready for a feature role in an NBA offense, but Towns has an athleticism edge, is a far superior defender and shot-blocker and may have more long-term upside. He possesses obscene length with a 9-foot-5 standing reach and 7-foot-4 wingspan, rebounds exceptionally well and needs only to grow more aggressive at both ends, which could become easier as he adds to his 250-pound frame.

ESPN draft guru Chad Ford and DraftExpress both still have Okafor ranked ahead of Towns in their rankings and their mock drafts, but Towns comes in at No. 2 in each and is ostensibly closing the gap.

(Courtesy: ESPN, DraftExpress)

Okafor has held the top spot for the entire season, but there's been plenty of movement elsewhere in the top-12. There's a fairly clear line of demarcation after that point, though Frank Kaminsky has begun working his way into the conversation some. 

The D'Angelo Russell hype train of early February appears to have stalled some and it's unlikely there becomes a clear separation between him and Emmanuel Mudiay until pre-draft camps. Elsewhere, inconsistent or uninspiring play from some of the stateside forwards have international prospects Kristaps Porzingis and Mario Hezonja rising in some places and they're both likely to fluctuate inside the top-12 through little of their own influence.

If Okafor and Towns wind up engaging in a head-to-head battle, it could be the New York Knicks forced with choosing between them.

There's plenty of NBA season left for teams to jockey for pingpong balls, with the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings both having serious incentives to lose – they'll send their first-round picks elsewhere if they land outside of the top-five or top-10, respectively. One win in April could be the difference between landing one of these prospects or no prospect at all.