Our ninth player in Denver Stiffs draft coverage was one win away from a national championship to wrap up his senior season. More on Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin.
Who is Frank Kaminsky?
Kaminsky is a 22 year-old native of Lisle, Illinois, having celebrated that 22nd birthday on April 4th. In his four seasons with Wisconsin, Kaminsky played nearly every game, and set the Badger’s single-season scoring mark in his junior year (43 points against North Dakota). Kaminsky was well-suited to hoops from the start, with his dad playing college ball at Lewis University, and his mom a volleyball player from Northwestern. Growing up, Kaminsky’s aunt and uncle worked for the Chicago Bulls, and Frank had access and a ton of exposure to the team’s practice facilities in the Bulls’ Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman heyday. Frank played his high school ball for Benet Academy in Lisle, and was named first team all-state by the Chicago Sun-Times and second team all-state by the Associated Press for his efforts during his senior season.
He led the Redwings to a 29-1 season that senior year, and was also named all-area, all-conference and East Suburban Catholic Conference Player of the Year. As to post-collegiate honors, Kaminsky swept all conference and national player of the year award honors after leading Wisconsin to the NCAA Tournament Championship game. Not bad for a guy who averaged 1.8 points per game as a freshman.
Here's Kaminsky on Kaminsky coming into his NBA career:
Take a look at Kaminsky's senior stats at Wisconsin:
|
Games |
MINS |
PTS |
FG% |
FGA |
3-PT% |
FT% |
FTA |
REB (Off) |
AST |
STL |
TOs |
PFs |
|
|
Kaminsky |
39 (144 career) |
33.6 |
18.8 |
54.7% |
12.5 |
41.6% |
78.0% |
5.1 |
6.7 (1.5) |
2.6 |
0.8 |
1.6 |
1.7 |
Pros:
1.) Size: Kaminsky tops out at 7'1" in shoes, 7' even without, and weighs 231 pounds. His vertical is not yet measured officially for the draft, and he has a 6'11" wingspan (making him the only draftee at the combine with a height-to-wingspan ratio under 1.0).
While not terribly explosive, Kaminsky shows great fluidity with his size, and still looks to have room to grow, both in height and weight (Hello, Steve Hess).
2.) Versatility: Kaminsky can be used on the offensive end in a variety of ways as he's a is a gifted passer, ball-handler, and shooter. Kaminsky makes for a matchup nightmare on the offensive end, as he's dangerous from down low to outside the arc. And in college, he made teams game-plan for him with double teams, where Kaminsky's ability to pass out of the double shone all year.
3.) Creativity: Kaminsky's maturity comes with the added benefit of letting the game come to him. Due to his slow start in his first couple years, Kaminsky has seen days when he was not the focal point of an offense, and shows great willingness to be a part of many types of schemes and game plans. His ability to control the game when appropriate and defer when it makes sense has played into a very creative and mindful nature on the floor, and makes him a danger even when not the first option.
Cons:
1.) Defense: Kaminsky spent his senior season at center, with decent-to-capable defense. But if he's moved to the power forward slot, as many expect, Kaminsky will need to work on his quickness and footwork to stay in front of quicker and smaller players at the four. His lateral quickness and footwork are solid, so he should be able to improve in this area with pro training.
2.) Size: Wait, what? Wasn't size a pro? Well, yes. But…
From a WEIGHT perspective (231 pounds), Kaminsky was regularly backed down in the post this season, and will only face stouter foes in NBA competition. He'll need an excellent strength and conditioning coach to pack some pounds on his frame, and work on his leverage down low.
3.) Maturity: Yes, I also called this a plus. I'm conflicted, so sue me.
As the second-eldest player coming out in this draft, Kaminsky will have less growth potential than some of his freshman-and-sophomore competition entering into the same. Kaminsky's explosive growth coming into his junior and senior seasons may be his biggest career leap, we shall see
How can the Nuggets get Kaminsky?
At the seven slot, Denver has a real shot at Kaminsky, where SB Nation's Curtis Hogg (click here for the mock draft) shows that Kaminsky's is mock-drafted at any position from sixth to seventeenth. If Tim Connelly wants him, odds are very good that Kaminsky will be available for the taking.
What say you, Nuggets Nation? Would Kaminsky be a good addition for the boys in blue, or should we pass this Badger?
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