OPPONENT SPOTLIGHT: Townes has overcome the burden of expectations

Kareem Townes leans back in his chair. The chair, along with the office, actually belongs to La Salle coach and Philadelphia legend Bill "Speedy" Morris. Townes, now a senior, is spending the afternoon reflecting on his two-and-a-half seasons playing basketball at La Salle. The senior guard is discussing the lofty -- almost too lofty -- expectations he has faced from the first time he wore an Explorers uniform. He pauses and begins to slowly examine the surroundings in his coach's office. There are keepsakes and basketballs everywhere, and photographs abound on all four walls. Townes ends his survey at the wall to his right. There are three player photos high up on that wall -- Lionel Simmons, Doug Overton, and Randy Woods. Simmons was National Player of the Year in 1990. Overton was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1991. Woods went to the Los Angeles Clippers the following year. All three had led the way in continuing the winning tradition of La Salle basketball. Before Kareem Townes even stepped on the court at La Salle, people all but hung his picture up on that wall in Speedy Morris' office. Like all three stars before him, Townes played high school ball in the Philadelphia Public League. More impressive than all three of them, he had averaged 41.2 points per game his senior year at Southern High, good for second to only Wilt Chamberlain in the Philly record books. "It was hard," Townes finally says. "You can't just step on the court in college averaging 40 points a game. Everyone has just expected me to keep shooting and shooting. Growing up, there have always been key players here, and that just stays with you. You've just got to find a way to overcome. I've just been trying to work harder." The 6-foot-3 shooting guard with astounding range on his jump shot has indeed had much to overcome at La Salle. After sitting out his first season as a Proposition 48 recruit, Townes struggled out of the gate. He was held to just six points in his first game, and then debuted in the Big Five with a horrific 0-for-16 shooting performance against Penn at the Civic Center. Townes was able to get his offense going as his first season progressed, but the Explorers struggled to a 14-13 record. Things went downhill last year as La Salle failed to post a winning record for the first time since 1986. Townes posted an average of 22.9 points per game, but the Explorers were victimized repeatedly by a lack of team play and unity. Suddenly, Townes found himself labeled by many as a disappointment and a bust. This season, however, has been different. Townes and backcourt mate Paul Burke have taken control and started to right the ship. With a murderous non-conference schedule this season that included games against Arizona, Massachusetts and Maryland in addition to the Quakers, both guards knew they had to step up. "Paul and I talked all summer about how we wanted to go out with a bang in our senior year," Townes says. "We've been working really hard and trying to keep everyone involved." The Explorers have played solid basketball this year, posting an 8-4 record against an array of quality opponents. One reason for this improved play, along with Townes' ever-present scoring touch, has been the cohesion between the guards. Much like Penn's accomplished duo of Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney, Townes and Burke have learned how to make each other better players. Townes has always been a dominant scorer, and he can still light up the scoreboard at a heart-stopping pace. But the Quakers are well aware of this heading into tonight's game. "If he's on, hopefully we'll not let him get the ball so much," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. For Kareem Townes, then, tonight's game against Allen and the Quakers is not just a Big Five game. It is another significant step on what has been a long road for Townes. A road that has had more peaks and valleys then he could have possibly imagined. "All I can do is give 100 percent," he says. "I was playing hard, but I was just doing the wrong things. Now I'm doing things to help myself and La Salle. All I can do is continue to do that." And if he does, that picture of Kareem Townes will someday assume its rightful spot on Speedy Morris' office wall.