John Calipari (pictured) coached Karl-Anthony Towns in his lone college season at Kentucky. Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

John Calipari sends heartfelt message to Karl-Anthony Towns and his family

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 3/25/20

The coronavirus continues to affect thousands of lives each day, and now it's managed to take a toll on Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns.

Towns announced Tuesday in a YouTube video that his mother, Jacqueline Cruz, has been hospitalized the past week and is dealing with health complications from what is believed to be COVID-19. She is in a medically induced coma, according to Towns.

"She was feeling great," Towns said in the video. "We talked, and she felt she turned the corner; I felt she was turning the corner. I knew there was more days to come, but I felt that we were heading in the right direction. They said that she went sideways and things had went sideways quick. And her lungs were extremely getting worse and she was having trouble breathing, and they were just explaining to me that she had to be put on a ventilator. And she was getting worse and she was confused by everything, and I'm trying to talk to her about everything and encourage and stay positive, just talk through everything with her."

After Towns shared the emotional video, his former college basketball coach from the University of Kentucky posted the following message to Twitter.

My heart goes out to @KarlTowns, his mother and big Karl. Jackie is one of the strongest women I have ever met. I’ve been praying for her every morning and she could use all of our prayers now to lift her out of this. https://t.co/V18AqVKxBS
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) March 25, 2020

Towns isn't the only NBA player affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart and more have tested positive for the virus over the past month.

With the NBA season postponed, Towns obviously will focus on the health of his mother.

More must-reads: