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44 - Frank Kaminsky

7-1, 230 Center
Wisconsin Senior
Birthday
04/04/93 (31 yrs)
Hometown
Lisle, IL
High School
Benet Academy
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
6
Size
9
Defense
7
Strength
7
Quickness
7
Leadership
8
Jump Shot
9
NBA Ready
9
Rebounding
7
Potential
6
Post Skills
8
Intangibles
8

NBA Comparison: Nenad Krstic/Sean Marks

Strengths: At 7-feet, there not many players around with his offensive skill set …. Highly fundamental, Kaminsky has great footwork, can go left and right and does a great job of using his length on offense … He can finish at the rim with either hand, post up on either block, shoot from the mid-range, consistently knock down 3’s and even attack you from off the dribble … The lack of quickness and explosiveness is compensated by his high basketball IQ … He is able to go by defenders on close outs, controlling his body to avoid charges, but also to basically post up from 16/15 feet and slowly back down defenders to the basket … His shooting touch is what is really intriguing about him … He didn’t shoot particularly well in the summer camps (adidas Nations) but he has been very consistent during this first part of the season, so far, even from long range, though he needs to get his feet set to be effective … He is a scoring threat from everywhere on the court … He loves utilizing his spin move, going back to the middle of the floor, and knows how to use it to be aggressive and shoot over his defender in a similar way of what Dirk does at the NBA level … Perhaps an area where he is a little underrated is passing, he has great vision of the court and makes really good decision with the ball, at his height he can see the floor really well and that can help in high-low situations, for example … A perfect guy to play pick and pop, very hard to ICE on ball screens, he spaces the floor well and he is also effective in the post … In the NBA, he will have to be a 4 offensively, and life will not be as easy to get by opponents, he will need to be a professor and learn all thr tricks with angles and fakes in order to not be neutralized by his lack of athleticism … Despite that he is 7-foot and able to contest shots in the paint, the long arms help him get many rebounds, but he will have to add strength to hold off NBA players while boxing them out …  20 years ago his size would probably have made him more appealing, in today quick, athletic game he will have to find the right system in order to show all of his skills offensively … He also possesses a high character with a lot of personality and confidence …

Weaknesses: The most obvious one is his subpar level of athleticism and lateral movement, but one of the main concerns with him ironically is on offense … It’s possible to find a role for him defensively where he won’t be exploited, he has length after all,  but will he be able to succeed in an offensive system different from the one he thrives in at Wisconsin? The fact that he struggled so mightily in the wide open format in front of so many scouts at adidas Nations in the summer has to be a conern … Theoretically he is the perfect guy to play in the triangle offense,  in a way that maybe only Pau Gasol did, and certainly he could find his place an offense like the Spurs (every high IQ player could) … But could he survive in more ISO oriented offenses where he will not have the ball in his hands much? A lot will depend on his consistency shooting, the percentages show us he is improving but the NBA 3 pointer is a different animal and though the high release will help Kaminsky a lot in shooting over people, his release is pretty slow and could be a problem … The talent is there but he has to show he can use it at the next level, and his limited upside (because he is already almost at the top of his game) and older age might scare some team away (Tyler Zeller was a much better/faster athlete and he fell to 20 as a senior, and has been traded)… Another big question mark is how will he deal with NBA physicality on both ends of the floor … He could potentially guard 5s but only if he adds strength to his body, while the 4 position could be too fast and explosive for him … And on offense people may push him out of the blocks too easily … The fact that he didn;t really do anything in his first two seasons in college is also a slight concern. Is he just a late bloomer, or is he taking advantage of players younger than himself as an upperclassman? … All that being said, we are talking about a player with a rare set of skills, who in the right system could utilize his abilities and become a great role player …

Notes: Some scouts see him as a Brad Miller type of center that can be a productive starter while others question his strength and athleticism and wonder if he’s even suited to be an NBA rotational guy … With his ability to stretch the floor, Kaminsky is a player that many coaches will want, as he can create mismatches with his outside shooting, and a guy who will buy into any role and embrace it …

Rick Pietro 12/29/14

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