Wisconsin Center Frank Kaminsky, a Lisle native who did his prep ball at Benet Academy, is the front-runner to win the Naismith and Wooden awards; basketball’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Kaminsky’s biggest competition for the awards is Duke Center Jahlil Okafor, a Whitney Young Magnet school product. Both Kaminsky and his teammate Duje Dukan are huge Chicago Bulls fans.
This year, the two best players are from Chicagoland and this phenomenon continues the strong tradition within a region that’s known for talent.
“So many good players across the board have come out of this area and there will continue to be good players,” said Kaminsky.
Although both are equally tremendous players now, they were actually at opposite ends of the spectrum upon entering college. Okafor was the nation’s top rated recruit while Kaminsky wasn’t on anybody’s radar. When was asked about Kaminsky’s development, Bo Ryan gave a playful response.
“I don’t know if people in the Chicago area were saying Frank was that good when he was in high school, who were you hanging around with?” he said in the typical Ryan dry humor.
“Frank said he was good.”
“No, he was developing. He was developing in a very nice way, maturing. He’s grown in a lot of ways.”
Frank Kaminsky does have first round NBA Draft potential (the latest projections have in him going in the mid to late teens), but Okafor is the overwhelming favorite to go first overall.
Kaminsky has a great game, but an even greater personality. He gives great soundbites and he writes even greater blogs. He said that he developed his goofy side as a child because, due to his being so gangly and so tall, he had to do something to fit in. He brings personality to the locker room and makes good copy for the media. When asked to describe his Badgers teammates he said “white guys.” Then you had the famous “Joe College, the NBA looks boring” blog post.
We had an exclusive with Frank Kaminsky where he explained it.
Now we’ll go to the NBA scouting report.
Frank Kaminsky STRENGTHS
Inside/Outside threat
Three-point shooter
Effective in pick and pop situations
Outstanding footwork in the paint
Versatile back to the basket scorer
Solid athleticism
Underrated shot blocker
Passing ability for a big
Frank Kaminsky WEAKNESSES
Will struggle in the paint defensively against NBA bigs
Finishing over NBA length due to a lack of explosiveness
Frank Kaminsky came out of absolutely nowhere last season to become a star with true NBA draft stock. When he scored 43 points in a non-conference game against some cupcake we can’t remember, we were all like “Who? Who’s Kaminsky?” Frank the Tank made the leap last year.
His teammate Josh Gasser described him as having guard skills, and the ability to guard 3s, 4s and 5s. Make no mistake Frank Kaminsky will be a true center at the next level.
Related: Bo Ryan reveals the secret to his success.
By the way, here’s the late, great Chris Farley doing his Matt Foley bit, with a Wisconsin Badgers angle.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. You can read Banks’ feature stories and op-eds in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and hear his regular guest spots on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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