Kentucky was the perfect place for the best recruiting class in history. John Calipari practically has a copyright on the formula — bringing in instant-impact freshmen who expect instant opportunity.
While six McDonald’s All-Americans were being wooed to Lexington, the awkward 7-foot frame of Frank Kaminsky was sandwiched on the Wisconsin sideline.
Playing behind an experienced frontline of Jared Berggren and Mike Bruesewitz, Kaminsky saw roughly 10 minutes a game last season as a sophomore, averaging 4.2 points. As a freshman, he averaged less than two points per game.
Now, he is the biggest reason Wisconsin is in its first Final Four in 14 years, after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the West Region.
“I think it’s really a good example for younger players that if there’s not that immediate gratification of playing time or big numbers, that if you keep working and keep listening, there’s a payoff at the end,” said Gene Heidkamp, Kaminsky’s high school coach.
Growing up in suburban Chicago, Kaminsky came from an athletic family. His father, Frank Sr., was a star scorer at Lewis University and his mother, Mary, played volleyball at Northwestern, where his aunt and uncle played basketball.
Early in high school, Kaminsky was a perimeter player with a sweet handle and sweeter shot.
But he didn’t make varsity at Benet Academy until his junior year. His AAU team, the Illinois Wolves, didn’t always need him, sometimes leaving Kaminsky behind on road trips.
“Sometimes we thought it was better for him to work all weekend on getting better than come and play with guys who had physically matured and were going to play the bulk of the minutes,” said Mike Mullins, Kaminsky’s AAU coach. “His mom and dad agreed. They understood that. Frank was the one who didn’t like it.
“You see his confidence now, but it’s harder when you’re that age … Frank’s truly someone who has worked for everything he’s gotten.”
The 6-foot-3 sophomore became a 6-foot-10 junior, yet still capable of the perimeter play he had developed.
High-school teammate Dave Sobolewski, who has known Kaminsky since kindergarten, felt like he was playing with a completely different player.
“It was like night and day,” said Sobolewski, who now plays at Northwestern. “There aren’t many 7-footers that can put the ball on the floor and shoot and have the feel for the game that he has. It’s a scary dominant thing.”
Though it took time for Kaminsky to get comfortable in his new body, it was a change in his mindset that really transformed his game.
“His junior year he changed more from a mental perspective, in terms of really being assertive and confident and demanding the ball and wanting to impose his will on his opponents,” said Mike Runger, another high school teammate. “Sometimes in the past he had a tendency to be passive despite the fact that he had the talent to really dominate people.”
The domination began, behind the arc and on the block. As a high school senior, he even handled point-guard responsibilities while Sobolewski was injured on a team that ranked as high as sixth in the nation, before losing to UConn guard Ryan Boatright’s squad in the playoffs.
Kaminsky caught the attention of Wisconsin, which beat out Bradley, DePaul, Northern Illinois and Northwestern for his services. After ascending to stardom in high school, however, Kaminsky was sent back to the bench.
So, he waited, again, until he broke through, again, leading the Badgers in scoring and rebounding en route to a first-team All-Big Ten selection this season.
Friends say Kaminsky is still a “goofball” and a “class clown-type,” a guy who enjoys the big stage, but doesn’t need the spotlight. They say he is still a team-first guy, a player who often visits his high school to drop in on classes and practices. He still wants to get better, but mostly wants to make everyone else better.
The opportunity may have changed, but Kaminsky hasn’t.
“Just working hard, it’s something I’ve always done,” Kaminsky said last week. “I knew that this year there would be an opportunity for me to go out there and play a lot of minutes, and I just wanted to do anything I could to be a big factor on this team.
“We’re going to enjoy this now, but this is business. We want a national championship now. We have made it to the opportunity to get there, so why not go get it?”