Karl Towns says he's playing just for the chance to play with his brothers a few more times

You can forgive Karl Towns for being a little down today. Karl had one of his worst games as a Cat yesterday, scoring one point in only thirteen minutes, largely because of foul trouble. Karl being Karl, he was extremely polite today and mustered up a few jokes and smiles, but there's no denying that he's down right now. In his press conference, John Calipari said that Karl's father, Karl Sr., texted him last night to make sure Cal stays on Karl amid his struggles. "He's a great kid. I've been harder on him than anybody on this team, but I told him at the beginning of the year, it would be that way because he had a long way to go, but I saw his upside being the best big guy in the country, and I'm not settling for anything else,," Cal said. "When he gets off point, I'm right there, but after the game I get a text from his dad: Stay on him, don't let up, Coach. Not: Get him more shots, play him more minutes." Karl even sounded a little prematurely nostalgic this afternoon, telling reporters that for him right now, it's not about the run, or being undefeated, it's about playing with his brothers. "We came into the postseason, and we didn't know we were going to be perfect. We never ever expected that. We came in to every game just worrying about that game and with the mindset that we're sticking to the game plan," Karl said. "Now it's funny that we have a chance at perfection to achieve the goal of winning the national title. Of course, it's a lot of fun, especially when you have great brothers like I have. That's what makes it fun. It's not about the goal, it's about the journey you take." (If for some absurd reason, this basketball thing doesn't work out for Karl, he would have a great career writing inspirational posters.) I remember Cal saying of his 2012 team that in the end, they played just for the opportunity to play with their brothers one more game. I asked Karl about that, and he finally cracked a smile. "I think that's the biggest joy I have is the fact that I still get to play with my brothers. Like I said, we love each other tremendously and it's one of those things, it's not even the fact about playing another game, it's an opportunity to play another game with my brothers. Getting to go back out there and lace up our shoes again, hopefully for at least a few more times." Three more times, at least.