Kaminsky, Okafor have taken different paths to NCAA title game

By SHANNON RYAN

Tribune News Service

INDIANAPOLIS — Duke freshman center Jahlil Okafor noted his surprise at the quickness with which he has ascended to the biggest, brightest stage of college basketball.

“I’m 19 and I’m playing in the national championship game,” he said.

For Wisconsin senior big man Frank Kaminsky, the journey has been a far more arduous process.

“I felt like I deserved some things more than I got, some more recognition,” he said. “Basketball has been my life pretty much. I’ve never worked harder at anything. We just want that award to pay off at the end.”

The NCAA Tournament championship game between top seeds Wisconsin and Duke pits two Chicago-area big men against each other: Kaminsky from Lisle, Ill., and Benet Academy vs. Okafor from the city and Whitney Young.

For much of the year, each has been in the debate as the nation’s best player, with Kaminsky ultimately winding up with most of the postseason hardware.

But other than their height, their All-America status and location on Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium, the comparisons mostly end there.

Okafor had lofty expectations heaped on him early. He was the nation’s top recruit and had his pick among the country’s most elite programs.

But his high school coach said that doesn’t mean it was easy.

“The expectations were great from outside but even greater inside,” Young coach Tyrone Slaughter said. “His expectations for himself are always the highest. There’s never been anything anyone (expected of him) that bothered him.”

At Duke, as a 6-foot-10 center, he has dominated inside with an average of 17.5 points a game and is projected as the NBA draft’s No. 1 pick.

And he has earned the respect of his Wisconsin counterpart.

“He does so many different things on the court,” Kaminsky said. “He was rated the No. 1 prospect in the country for good reason. He’s proven so far this year what he can do and how good he is as a player and how bright his future is going to be.”

Kaminsky’s journey started in the shadows — an especially tough feat for a 7-footer.

He was overlooked in high school, receiving little attention from other elite teams, and played only 7.7 minutes per game as a freshman at Wisconsin, averaging a mere 1.8 points.

When he was left off lists of “best players” or not included among top recruits, Kaminsky took notice.

“It was frustrating at times,” he said. “I got to see so many people around me who just had so much success in basketball and got a lot of credit and awards and championships and I just wanted that for myself.”

The slights during high school recruiting only intensified his mission to become the best college basketball player — something that has come to fruition with his acceptance last week of the Oscar Robertson Trophy.

“He was never at the top of the heap,” said Mike Mullins, Kaminsky’s AAU coach with the Illinois Wolves. “It took tremendous fortitude and character. He’s come out better for it.”

Okafor may be the top pick in the NBA draft, but he even gave his best-college-player vote to Kaminsky.

“He’s been the best player in the country all year,” he said.

Living under the radar for so long has only made Kaminsky’s newfound recognition more fulfilling.

“When you don’t really have much attention and a lot of people expecting a lot from you, and you set goals for yourself that you want to achieve and you accomplish them, that’s one of the most satisfying feelings in my life,” Kaminsky said.

Okafor and Kaminsky never played against each other in high school but did meet in a regular-season game this year, with Duke winning 80-70 with 13 points from Okafor in just his eighth career game while Kaminsky had 17 points and nine rebounds.

While Kaminsky is finally earning his due and has respect for Okafor, he said he’ll still pull fuel from the past for the championship meeting.

“You see how far he’s come and all the accolades,” Kaminsky said of Okafor. “It still kind of motivates me.”