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Frank Kaminsky wins Naismith College Player of the Year award

By Andrew Ross

Mar 1, 2015; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Frank Kaminsky (44) returns to the bench during the game with the Michigan State Spartans at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin defeated Michigan State 68-61. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 1, 2015; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Frank Kaminsky (44) returns to the bench during the game with the Michigan State Spartans at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin defeated Michigan State 68-61. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports /
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Last night was a great moment for Frank Kaminsky as he advanced to the national championship game, and things are getting even better for the senior.

It was kind of expected, but it’s finally official: Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky has been awarded Naismith College Player of the Year.

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Kaminsky beat out Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein, Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant to win the award. This also isn’t the first major award Kaminsky has won this year. He also took home the Oscar Robertson Trophy – given to the best college player selected by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association – and was named the Associated Press Player of the Year.

The good times just keep rolling for Kaminsky and his Badgers. Saturday night they pulled off the major upset by beating the then-undefeated Kentucky Wildcats in the Final Four, and now they will face off against the Duke Blue Devils in the national championship game on Monday night. Kaminsky had 20 points (64 percent shooting) and 11 rebounds against Kentucky. He will need a similar performance Monday night if they Badgers want to walk away champions.

Even if you aren’t a Wisconsin fan, it’s hard to not root for Kaminsky. College basketball has really changed over the years, but Kaminsky is an old school college player who has put in four years of hard work. He barely played in the first two years of his collegiate career, but he started to come into his own last year and that carried over into this season. During this regular season, Kaminsky averaged 18.7 points (55 percent shooting) and 8.1 rebounds. As good as his regular season numbers were, Kaminsky has elevated his game during the NCAA tournament by averaging 22.2 points (54 percent shooting) and 8.8 rebounds. The Badgers are a great team, but this type of tournament performance was really needed from Kaminsky in order for Wisconsin to get this far.

Many have debated what Kaminsky’s future will be like in the NBA, and I’m not that positive that anyone is really sure what his professional career will look like. He could be a solid player for any team, sure, but he could also fall apart against the NBA competition. As of right now, ESPN’s Chad Ford has Kaminsky at number 13 on his big board and believes that he will for sure be a lottery pick. That’s quite the accomplishment for someone who averaged less than two points during his first year at Wisconsin.

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