Tag: Frank Kaminsky

Locked On Badgers Podcast: The greatest Wisconsin Basketball team of all time

Asher discusses what he feels is the undisputed greatest Wisconsin basketball team of all time

[lawrence-newsletter]The Locked On Badgers Podcast is a daily Wisconsin basketball and football podcast bringing you short-form, daily coverage of Badgers sports Monday through Friday. On today’s episode, Asher talks about the greatest Wisconsin basketball team of all time, and details why Greg Gard has been such a contentious figure in Madison.

You can listen to Locked On Badgers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and wherever else you find your podcasts, Monday through Friday.

The fifth anniversary of the (missed) call that sunk the Badgers

Five years ago today I was a sophomore in high school sitting on my uncle’s couch watching the Wisconsin Badgers play for the National Championship against the Duke Blue Devils. Though I had no affiliation with the Badgers at the time, something …

Five years ago today I was a sophomore in high school sitting on my uncle’s couch watching the Wisconsin Badgers play for the National Championship against the Duke Blue Devils. Though I had no affiliation with the Badgers at the time, something about their team, how they played and the way they were going toe-to-toe with the blue blood programs of college basketball was intriguing to me and, as a result, was quickly winning my fandom.

 

The majority of the country not located in Durham, N.C. wanted Duke to lose that game. Wisconsin’s story was too perfect: a team who fell short in the closing seconds during the previous year’s Final Four to the Kentucky Wildcats, returned the core of their team, got back to the Final Four, beat the then-undefeated Wildcats–ending their bid at a 40-0 season–and now found themselves going head-to-head with the least likeable program in college basketball, the Duke Blue Devils.

 

Badger fans also knew that the end to Bo Ryan’s legendary tenure as head coach was nearing its end, and this might be the best shot they’d ever get at winning a title.

 

Well, fast forward 36 minutes of basketball and the Badgers trail by one with 3:20 left on the clock. Yes, I’m skipping over how Ryan’s unit got out to a nine-point lead in the second half only to see it get erased almost single-handedly by Grayson Allen. And no, this isn’t the missed call you thought I was talking about.

 

The play in question developed when Justise Winslow caught an inbound pass and immediately drove baseline on Nigel Hayes with Hayes doing a tremendous job at cutting off his angle to the rim. During the drive, clear as day, Winslow stepped on the baseline with his right foot before picking up his dribble, turning and finding Jahlil Okafor under the basket who scored while getting fouled by Frank Kaminsky.

 

The baseline referee during all of this seemed to be staring right at Winslow, though wasn’t able to see that his foot touched the black line on the baseline before giving up the ball.

 

This missed call, made with Duke leading by one, would’ve given the Badgers the basketball back with a shot at taking the lead and having the momentum with three minutes to play. Instead, Duke scored on the play as part of a 7-0 run that put them pretty much out-of-reach given how much time was left in the game.

 

Many people look back at this game and think of the controversial call a minute later when, with Duke leading by five, Bronson Koenig drove to the rim, missed, and hands went flying for the ball before it eventually landed out-of-bounds. In real-time it appeared that Koenig was the last to touch the ball, though on instant replay it was clear that Winslow’s finger grazed the ball as it was flying out of his reach. The referees obviously stuck with their initial ruling that Wisconsin touched it last and the rest is history.

 

There are obviously a lot of what-ifs when you re-watch old sporting events and think about what could have been if a single moment went the other way. In this case, though, these queries are warranted, and it’s hard to think about how history would’ve been different had the baseline referee seen Winslow step out-of-bounds.

Big Ten Network is airing a Wisconsin basketball reunion that should make Badger fans very excited

Do you miss watching the antics of Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, and Wisconsin’s back-to-back Final Four squads? As a part of the Big Ten Network’s “Video Recall” series, Wisconsin basketball is having a family reunion that you do not want to miss. In …

Do you miss watching the antics of Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, and Wisconsin’s back-to-back Final Four squads? As a part of the Big Ten Network’s “Video Recall” series, Wisconsin basketball is having a family reunion that you do not want to miss. In keeping with these strange times, former Badger stars are getting together via a video conference call.

Big Ten Network announced on Friday that Kaminsky, Dekker, Ben Brust, Josh Gasser, and Zack Showalter will all be in attendance for stories, humor, and memories from the best years in Wisconsin basketball history. Here is a taste of what you can expect:

Yes, Gasser has a beard. And yes, if that clip is any indication, we are in for a lot of fun. Stay tuned for the Wisconsin basketball reunion!

Birthday edition of catching up with Badger Ballers: Frank Kaminsky’s year in the NBA, his podcast, and a special Badger reunion

First things first, we at BadgersWire want to wish Frank Kaminsky a very happy 27th birthday. When you hear stories about what it was like to play with “the tank,” teammates cannot stop smiling and laughing while they tell them. When I spoke with …

First things first, we at BadgersWire want to wish Frank Kaminsky a very happy 27th birthday. When you hear stories about what it was like to play with “the tank,” teammates cannot stop smiling and laughing while they tell them. When I spoke with former Badger Vitto Brown on the Locked On Badgers Podcast (link to the interview Locked On Badgers Podcast: Interview with Former Badger Vitto Brown) about Kaminsky he told me how he had the ability to make everyone laugh, every situation light, and bring the team together.

The 2018-19 season was not all fun and games for the Badger legend. In his fourth year with the Charlotte Hornets, the 7-0 sharpshooter struggled. He averaged 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds, the lowest averages since his rookie season, on a team that did not make the NBA playoffs. A change of scenery was in order, and Kaminsky got one when he joined the Phoenix Suns in the offseason. Under new head coach Monty Williams, the stretch four regained his rhythm. In 32 appearances he managed to start 13 games due to injuries around him, and the Illinois native put up 11 points a game in an important supporting role.

After struggling with nagging injuries of his own, Kaminsky’s season was cut short not due to injury but due to the NBA’s suspension of the season. How has Frank the Tank got by in quarantine? One way is by reconnecting with his old Badger teammates. Big Ten Network is dropping a Zoom chat soon with members of the 2014-15 Final Four team:

Kaminsky also dove into the podcasting world. Want to know what number 44 thinks about being quarantined and what it was like to be an NCAA basketball icon after being a relative unknown? It’s all included in the latest episode of his podcast “Pro’s and Joes with Frank Kaminsky.” He also has clearly not lost his shooting touch while being stuck at home:

Hoops Mount Rushmore: Who Are the Greatest Badgers in the Last 20 Years?

Sports are on pause and, although it’s only April 3, it feels like the dog days of summer are in full swing. So, what better to do while we go back and re-watch every notable Badger sport game from the last 20 years? How about a Mount Rushmore. …

Sports are on pause and, although it’s only April 3, it feels like the dog days of summer are in full swing. 

So, what better to do while we go back and re-watch every notable Badger sport game from the last 20 years? How about a Mount Rushmore.

Here, in no particular order, are the four greatest Badger basketball players since 2000.

 

Frank Kaminsky (2011-2015)

This one was an easy one. Although Kaminsky began his career playing sparingly, only starting two games in his first two seasons, his junior and senior seasons vaulted him into Badger basketball lure as he helped lead the team to two consecutive Final Four appearances including a National Championship defeat in 2015 at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils. What Kaminsky brought to the floor was a unique blend of size, inside skill and outside shooting, a combination which led him to be drafted ninth overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 2015. Kaminsky finished his career with the greatest single-season scoring performance in school history with 732 points as a senior in 2014-2015, No. 12 on the Badgers all-time scoring list, 1458 total points, the only Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy AND AP Player of the Year award winner in a single season and, again, helped lead the Badgers on their best two-year run in school history. Was he a much better player than guys like Jon Leuer and Sam Dekker? No. But his final two seasons vaulted him to one of the greatest Badgers since 2000 and into Badger lure.

 

Ethan Happ (2015-2019)

Ethan Happ finished his career in 2019 as Wisconsin’s all-time leader in rebounds, blocks and triple doubles and No. 3 on the school’s all-time scoring list. Happ was the model of consistency throughout his four years, averaging 12.4 points and 7.9 rebounds as a freshman, 14 and 9 as a sophomore, 17.9 and 8 as a junior and 17.3 and 10.1 as a senior, and finished his career with a final tally of 2130 points, 1217 rebounds and 154 blocks. While he was unable to lead the Badgers back to the Final Four after their consecutive appearances in 2013-14 and 2014-15, he was a pivotal cog in the team’s two Sweet Sixteen runs his freshman and sophomore year and he would’ve had the team in the Elite Eight in 2016-17 were it not for a miraculous three pointer by Florida’s Chris Chiozza at the overtime buzzer.

 

Nigel Hayes (2013-2017)

Like Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes gets a boost due to the team’s run of success during his time in Madison. Unlike Kaminsky, though, Hayes finished his Badger career near the top of seemingly every leaderboard. He is the only player in school history to finish inside the top-10 in all-time points, assists and rebounds, finished with the fourth-most points in school history (third but has since been passed by Happ), played in the most games in school history (150), was the second player in Big Ten History to top 1800 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists and, again, was one of the main catalysts for the best four-year run of success in school history. He may have been overshadowed a bit by Sam Dekker and Kaminsky on the two Final Four teams, but his consistent production for four years, versatility and team success make it necessary to put him on this list.

 

Alando Tucker (2002-2007)

Finally, and no I did not forget about him, the school’s all-time leading scorer Alando Tucker. Tucker finished his Badger career with 2217 points, 769 rebounds and an impressive 134 games played. He was also the school’s first consensus 1st-team All-American since 1942, the Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior, helped lead Wisconsin to the Elite Eight in 2004-2005 and really ushered in the Bo Ryan era of Badger basketball, arguably the best run of success the school has had in its history. He came years before current students like myself even followed college sports but his greatness and impact on the program is undeniable.

Stats and accolades via UWBadgers.com.

Jon Leuer, Frank Kaminsky, Jordan Taylor praise Greg Gard

Wisconsin alumni praise Greg Gard

The significance of Wisconsin’s win over Michigan State went far beyond the many obvious components of the feat engineered by the Badgers on Saturday.

Yes, the win shored up Wisconsin’s resume and dramatically reduced the chances this team will miss the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers aren’t a lock, but they moved several notches above bubble territory. It would take a plague of locusts (think of a week 100 times as bad as the week Wisconsin had from last Friday versus Purdue through last Thursday, with the departure of Kobe King and the suspension of Brad Davison, PLUS the two losses on the road in West Lafayette and Iowa City) to deny UW a trip to the Big Dance at this point.

The win was bigger than snapping a two-game losing streak. The win was bigger than beating Tom Izzo and the most prominent Big Ten basketball school of the past 20 years. The win was bigger than an undermanned team pulling together and rallying around head coach Greg Gard.

Wait a minute, how can a win be bigger than that?

It can be bigger than that because this was a win which led prominent and beloved Wisconsin basketball alumni to publicly express how important this moment was and how happy they were for the team and the head coach.

See for yourself: After the win on Saturday, Jordan Taylor spoke up about the importance of the win and how much Greg Gard means to Wisconsin basketball:

Jon Leuer made it a point to note how every Badger — players and coaches — united in a moment of adversity instead of falling apart and dissolving into dissension or hopelessness (if not both).

One of the two iconic Wisconsin basketball players this century, Frank Kaminsky, made sure to say how impressive it was that this team and coaching staff responded to a brutal week with a winning effort against Michigan State:

Gard has this to say about Saturday’s win:

“I’m proud of the guys in the locker room and what they represent. They understand they represent a lot more than themselves. There’s a lot of former players that take pride in having worn that jersey.”

This was no ordinary win. This win was so much bigger than a better place in the Big Ten standings and severe reduction of bubble-related worries.

Wisconsin basketball alumni pounded home that point.