Wisconsin men's basketball legend headlines Badgers 2025 Hall of Fame class
From overlooked High School recruit to National Player of the Year, Frank Kaminsky and his Wisconsin men's basketball career is now immortalized with his UW Hall of Fame induction.
Frank Kaminsky didn’t arrive with a ton of hype—but his rise from a lightly recruited high school player to becoming a cornerstone of the Wisconsin basketball program is a testament to perseverance, development, and the power of belief.
Now, as Kaminsky is set to be inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2025, it’s worth reflecting on the path that led him to this well deserved honor.
It’s an honor that, while not unexpected, still hit home for Kaminsky.
“I mean, it’s just like you get overcome with this emotion that you can’t really describe,” Kaminsky said, reflecting on his time at UW. “You start thinking backward, and it puts you in a place where you love. I love here, I love Wisconsin, I love this school, I love being back on campus.”
Coming out of Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois, Frank Kaminsky wasn’t exactly seen as a can’t-miss prospect. Per the 247Sports Composite, he was ranked No. 247 nationally, the No. 27 center in the class of 2011, and the No. 15 overall player in his home state of Illinois.
Despite being named first-team all-state and averaging 14.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.2 blocks, and 2.8 assists in Kaminsky's senior season, his college offers on the table were limited. He chose Wisconsin over schools like DePaul, Northwestern, Bradley, and the directional Illinois programs, committing to head coach Bo Ryan and the Badgers in November 2010.
At Wisconsin, Kaminsky’s early years were nothing to write home about. He played in 35 of 36 games as a freshman but averaged just 1.8 points per game and saw only 6.3 minutes per contest during the Badgers’ NCAA Tournament run. As a sophomore, he again appeared in all 35 games—starting the first two—and chipped in 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
There were flashes, but nothing that hinted at what was coming.
Then came the breakout. As a junior, Kaminsky didn’t just take a step forward—he built momentum, and then, all at once, he took off. The 7-footer started all 38 games, averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds, and earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and media.
He also broke Wisconsin’s single-game scoring record with a 43-point performance against North Dakota and was twice named Big Ten Player of the Week. Most importantly, Kaminsky played a starring role in the Badgers’ run to the Final Four in 2013-14, earning NCAA West Region Most Outstanding Player honors.
Still, when Kaminsky first found out about the Hall of Fame news, it didn’t come through a flashy email or press release.
“I had a voicemail on my phone from Chris McIntosh, and he never called me before. So I was like, this has got to be something important. Either I did something bad, or it’s something good,” Kaminsky joked.
“I just called him, and he told me not to tell anyone. I immediately got off the phone and started telling everybody. I’m not good at following the rules.”
His senior season at Wisconsin was nothing short of spectacular.
Kaminsky led the Wisconsin Badgers in points (18.8), rebounds (8.2), assists (103), blocks (57), field goal percentage (.547), free throws (156), and 3-point percentage (41.6%). He became the only player in NCAA Division I to average at least 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game that season. According to BartTorvik, Kaminsky finished with an absolutely unheard-of 7.0 PRPG, further validating his dominance that season.
“I still don’t think people fully realize or appreciate that Frank is one of the greatest college basketball players to ever play,” former teammate Sam Dekker wrote in a post on X. “Not just greatest Badger. Like, legit one of the best basketball weapons college hoops has ever seen.”
With Kaminsky leading the way, Wisconsin made back-to-back Final Four appearances—culminating in a national title showdown with Duke in 2015 that doesn't need re-hashing — after taking down an unbeaten Kentucky team littered with NBA talent that entered at 38–0. At season's end, Kaminsky cleaned house, deservedly so, taking home the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, and consensus National Player of the Year honors.
"Obviously, I won the individual awards, but that's not really what I was after," Kaminsky said at his jersey retirement. "I don't really understand why all the good things happened to me, because we had such a great team. There were so many pieces that allowed me to do what I did. You're going to see my name and number up there, but there are so many things you can't see that went in to it.
“I was just lucky enough to be in the right situation at the right time."
Looking back, Kaminsky admitted that while he expected this kind of recognition might come someday, that didn’t make it any less meaningful for him.
“Did I know this honor was going to come at some point? Absolutely. But that doesn’t make it any less special,” Kaminsky said. “Because you know my four years here—I know they get like 14 years here now on campus, and they go to 17 different schools—but my four years here, I just really wanted to maximize my opportunity. I felt lucky to be able to have a scholarship to come here in the first place because I wasn’t highly recruited. I just wanted to make something of myself—and I think I overachieved.”
Now, in 2025, Kaminsky’s legacy is officially cemented with his induction into the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame. His story has always been one of development and belief in himself—proof that greatness can come from humble beginnings. His jersey already hangs in the Kohl Center rafters, but this honor is the cherry on top for a player who will forever be remembered as one of the greatest athletes to ever wear the Motion W.
Kaminsky is one of 12 individuals being honored in the UW Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2025, as announced by Wisconsin Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh. It’s a loaded group that includes a few other names Badgers fans will know well—like football standouts Travis Frederick and James White, hockey legend Joe Pavelski, and longtime voice of the Badgers Matt Lepay, who is also being recognized.
Grass grows where you water it, and Badgers fans are awfully glad he chose to water his lawn in Madison.
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