BADGE' TO THE BONE
Ex-Wisconcin star loving his alma mater's run
IT is a good day to be a Badger.
“Absolutely,” Frank Kaminsky told The Post over the phone. “Well, there’s never a bad day to be one. Today’s just better than the rest of ’ em.”
Kaminsky, a rising star these days for the NBA’s Hornets, helped take the Wisconsin basketball program to the brink of a national championship two years ago and is beaming with pride and loving how the current Badgers, who toppled defending champion Villanova on Saturday, have made a mockery of their No. 8 seed.
“I like how, no matter where they are in a game, they’re always playing their game,” Kaminsky said. “They don’t get shaken. They don’t get rattled. They had a stretch for about two weeks where it just seemed like they got disconnected, but when they’re connected and playing the way that they can play, they can beat anybody, as they showed [Saturday].”
Kaminsky — Frank the Tank in Madison — has watched from afar the growth of four of his former teammates, who have carried on a proud tradition.
Bronson Koenig is a deadly 3point marksman.
“I think if you ask a lot of people in the Big Ten if you wanted one guy in the conference with the ball in his hand at the end of the game, I think everybody would pick him,” Kaminsky said. “He’s never been afraid — especially when he was a freshman, too — he’s never been afraid to come in and take big shot or make a big play. His confidence in himself and his ability to make plays when it matters is huge. Especially in that Villanova game, he sat most of the second half with four fouls and came in and really made all the big plays to help ’em win.” Nigel Hayes? “When you look at Nigel, you see how he’s had his ups and downs, how he’s had so much pressure put on him, whether it would be by himself and what he says, or by other people,” Kaminsky said. “And he’s always performed at a high level. He’s one of the best players that’s ever come through the program, and I think a guy like that needs to be appreciated by everything that he does on the court.”
Analyst Jay Bilas last month called 6-foot-10 Ethan Happ the best defender he has seen in college basketball this season. Happ redshirted as a freshman two years ago.
“I think the sky’s the limit for him,” Kaminsky said. “There’s just so much that he can do. Once he gets his confidence in his jump shot and his ability to play more outside than just [being] a back-to-the-basket guy, I think he’s gonna be absolutely one of the best players in the country.” Vitto Brown? “Vitto’s made a lot of improvements,” Kaminsky said. “He came in as kind of a raw prospect. He always played hard, always working his hardest, but as you see him now, he’s out there making big shots, making big plays. [On Saturday], he had that play at the end of the game where he got his hands on the ball when [Josh] Hart drove to the rim. That’s just something that you can’t really teach a guy.
“For all four of those guys, it just speaks to [the fact] they all came in at the same time, and they wanted to make an impact, and they wanted to do something, and they all became the focal point of a team that’s been to four straight Sweet 16s, and not many people can say that. That’s just an insane accomplishment.”
Wisconsin meets Florida on Friday at the Garden.
“It’s Florida next,” Kaminsky said. “That’s a game I know Wisconsin and Wisconsin fans are going into the game expecting to get a win.”
Kaminsky fondly recalls the magical run as the time of his life, on the court and off, go-karting and playing “Super Smash Bros.,” until Duke beat Wisconsin 68-63 in the 2015 national championship game to deny him his One Shining Moment.
“That wasn’t fun the way it ended,” Kaminsky said. “That’s not how I think anyone envisioned it ending. If you could go back and have one more chance to do it again, I think everyone would take it.”
Kaminsky took great delight Saturday in posting on Twitter: “Wassup now @NCAA?” He was incredulous when the Badgers were given a No. 8 seed.
“It goes back to the college football playoff committee and the selection committee,” Kaminsky said. “I think there’s just too much bias involved. I think when you have athletic directors from certain teams and people who are gonna look out for their best interests or their conference and their teams, I just think there’s just way too much bias involved.”
The key for Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 now?
“Preparation,” Kaminsky said. “Have everyone back at school telling you how great you played, but you gotta realize that you’re playing for something bigger now. It gets harder each step of the way.”