Recruiting Source: Karl Towns, Top 2015 Center, Will Commit to Kentucky

Just two days after losing to Duke in the nightcap of the Champions Classic, Kentucky is axing some revenge on the recruiting trail.

Karl Towns, the top sophomore center in high school basketball, has decided to play his college ball at Kentucky, according to a source closely involved in the process. An official announcement will come December 4.

“It’s a done deal,” says the source. “His decision has been made up and the announcement in three weeks is just a formality at this point.”

Towns will choose Kentucky from a long list of potential suitors that included Duke, Florida and North Carolina. The Blue Devils had been Big Blue’s greatest opposition in this recruitment, and if not for the lure of John Calipari, Towns likely would have ended up in Durham, per the source.

A 17-year-old sophomore as of today, Towns is expected to reclassify at some point from his current class of 2015 to the class of 2014, if not 2013. The birthday boy was held back a year in school and thus fits into the age bracket for high school juniors.

Kentucky made in-roads with Towns over the summer, when the New Jersey native suited up for the Dominican Republic senior national team coached by Calipari and UK assistant Orlando Antigua. It was over those summer months when Calipari established the framework for a potential reunion down the line.

Coach Cal has been criticized in various circles for taking the coaching job with the Dominican national team solely to abet his recruiting. Regardless of the ethical implications in play, his extra efforts certainly paid off with Towns.

Towns is a 6-foot-10 physical specimen with an advanced handle for his position, able to dominate inside in the half court and run the floor in transition. He will become the first Kentucky commit in either the class of 2015 or class of 2014, depending on whether he reclassifies.