The 5 Best Freshmen From Kentucky's John Calipari Era

Karl-Anthony Towns, 2014-2015

PER: 29.8

Karl-Anthony Towns is the first player from this year's freshmen class, and he comes in at number three.

Towns is the best player on a Kentucky team that might be the best we've seen under John Calipari. The Wildcats are still undefeated at 29-0, have the second best nERD (23.3) of any team since the turn of the century and are the favorites to win the National Title.

Despite playing just 20.2 minutes per game, the 6'11" freshman stud has been a big part of Kentucky's success this season. He is first on the team in Win Shares per 40 (.305), Box Plus/Minus (17.2) and Defensive Box Plus/Minus (11.7).

Though he has just 4.5 Win Shares to his name, Towns has been very efficient on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. While averaging 18.3 points per 40 minutes, the big man shoots 56% from the floor and possesses a True Shooting Percentage of 61.9%.

Towns is particularly great at rebounding and defending, as he's averaging 12.9 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per 40 minutes of action. He may be the second-best defender to only Anthony Davis.

So it's only right that Towns will likely leave school after one year and enter the draft, where he's projected as a top-five pick come June 25th.