Dominicans over the moon for Towns

SANTO DOMINGO (2015 FIBA Americas Championship) - Dominican Republic basketball has been on the up for several years, with top coaches and players helping the national team become one of the powerhouses in the Americas.

The country's Basketball Federation (Fedombal) and supporters have celebrated big wins, and medals, at FIBA Americas Championships, Centrobaskets and Central American and Caribbean Games, and a first appearance at a FIBA Basketball World Cup since 1978.

Now, the movers and shakers in basketball on the island nation are expressing enormous pride over Karl-Anthony Towns, the top pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Towns is the only Dominican ever to be taken with the first overall pick.

The Minnesota Timberwolves chose him after his one year of American college basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats, where he played for former Dominican Republic coach John Calipari.

"It's a great day for our country," said Eduardo Najri, the general manager of the national side.

"Without a doubt I'm very happy and proud of Karl."

He [Towns] was young but mature and his development as a player is down to his dedication and hard work. - Najri

Najri also applauded Towns' parents, Jackie and Karl Sr, saying: "The influence of both was the key for the young man to be in the place where he now is."

Towns spoke about his parents immediately after being picked.

Basketball fans in the Dominican Republic have been raving about his potential for several years.

He was just 16 and a highly-touted player at St Joseph in Metuchen, New Jersey, when he arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, for the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

He made one brief appearance in a loss to Lithuania.

A year later is when Towns began to make his mark with the national team.

Still a high school player, the 2.11m center played double-digit minutes in three of the team's four games at the 2013 Jenaro "Tuto" Marchand Continental Cup.

He had 11 points and eight rebounds in a defeat to Argentina.

In that contest, and the one before against Canada, Towns showed his defensive prowess with three blocks.

He also played at the FIBA Americas Championship that summer and helped the Dominicans qualify for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Though he did not travel to Bilbao to compete at Spain 2014 because of the need to focus on his freshman year at Kentucky, Towns did play 10 minutes for the Dominicans in a warm-up game against the United States, a team loaded with NBA superstars, at Madison Square Garden.

After helping Kentucky reach the NCAA Final Four, Towns declared for the NBA Draft.

Rafael Uribe, the President of Fedombal, also spoke of his satisfaction.

"He is a special talent and the sky is the limit for him," he said. "We wish him every success in the best basketball league in the world."

Atlanta Hawks big man Al Horford, who has been a teammate of Towns in the Dominican Republic squad, sent him well wishes.

FIBA