Lisle's Kaminsky joins MJ in Charlotte
Frank Kaminsky knows a few people who have worked with Michael Jordan.
His aunt, Karen Stack, has worked for the Bulls for 30 years as assistant to the general manager. His uncle, Jim Stack, was Jerry Krause's right-hand man during the dynasty years.
The 7-foot-1 Kaminsky will now play for the team Jordan owns. The Benet Academy and Wisconsin grad was chosen No. 9 overall by the Charlotte Hornets in Thursday's NBA Draft.
"Growing up and from Chicago, Michael Jordan is everything there. He still is," Kaminsky told reporters in Brooklyn after being selected. "I had all of his posters on my wall. 'Space Jam' was my favorite movie. It's just crazy to me that he thought highly enough of me to pick me with the ninth pick in the draft, and I'm just so grateful for him and for the opportunity."
Kaminsky had some fun with the draft process, even filming a self-deprecating ad for J.C. Penney. But waiting around for the draft to begin wasn't easy.
"First of all, I couldn't fall asleep last night," Kaminsky said. "I was talking all day, I just wanted to figure out where I'm going. I wish they would have woke me up in the morning and told me, so I didn't have to go through the whole day of wondering and listening to my agent and what he was saying. So just when my name was finally called and I heard that I was going to be drafted, my heart started beating real fast.
"It's just unreal. It is really is hard to put into words. I'm kind of just spitballing here, but it's a dream come true, it really is."
Kaminsky's story is familiar to basketball fans across the country after he helped lead Wisconsin to consecutive Final Fours and the NCAA title game last April.
A notorious late-bloomer, Kaminsky, 22, averaged 1.8 points as a freshman at Wisconsin and 4.2 as a sophomore. At the draft, he could have felt out of place sitting among a sea of draft prospects who spent just one season in college, but he bristled at the suggestion he's already reached his potential.
"People talk about, 'I don't know how high his ceiling is,'" he said before the draft. "You know it's cool, you guys (reporters) can write all you want, I don't really care because I know I'm the person who has control of all that. So I can continue to make myself better and continue to get better at basketball."
Charlotte made a couple of trades before the draft, acquiring small forward Nicholas Batum from Portland and center Spencer Hawes from the L.A. Clippers. The Hornets have several options at center and power forward, including Al Jefferson, Cody Zeller, Bismack Biyombo, Marvin Williams and Hawes.
Kaminsky returned to Lisle in April when Benet Academy retired his No. 44 jersey.
"People who are great are the people who are great at failing," he said that day. "I'm proud to say I'm one of the best failures of all time."
Michael Jordan is hoping Kaminsky is all about success in the NBA.