Wisconsin Basketball: Remembering Frank Kaminsky’s collegiate career

The Youngster: Kaminsky as a freshman (2011-12)

Frank Kaminsky and redshirt-freshman Evan Anderson were the only true centers on the roster during the 2011-12 season. Believe it or not, Bo Ryan kept his same starting lineup all season long that year. Jordan Taylor and Josh Gasser were in the backcourt, Ryan Evans and Mike Bruesewitz played at forward, and Jared Berggren filled out the paint. That’s how the Badgers rolled in those days.

Ben Brust and Robert Wilson came off the bench in every game. In his first season, Kaminsky played in all but one game. Yet, his minutes were limited to 7.7 per game and he only scored 1.8 points per game.

Kaminsky came out swinging right away, playing 10 minutes in each of his first two games. In total, he scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds. The freshman big man hit a 3-pointer in his first game. He then hit two triples in his fourth game while recording nine points. The only problem was that Kaminsky never played regularly enough to record consistent statistics.

He did go on to have eight more games of 10 or more minutes during his freshman year. The Badgers finished with a 26-10 record and landed a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team reached the Sweet 16 and Kaminsky saw 19 total minutes of action in the Big Dance.