From Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin center and NCAA player of the year, in a post game interview after the Badgers defeated hitherto undefeated Kentucky in an NCAA semifinal game:
“We have a veteran team.”
Kentucky specializes in “one and done”—players who are so talented they only play one year at Kentucky and then head on to the NBA. Coach John Calipari has often started five freshmen. Wisconsin, on the other hand, started all upperclassmen and the core of the team, Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, have been playing together for three years. Kaminsky is a rarity among collegiate stars; he stayed at Wisconsin for four years. Kentucky overcame an eight-point second-half deficit and took a four-point lead. Wisconsin could have wilted, but there’s something to be said for the maturity and stability of older players like Kamisky and Dekker, and for the experience and resilience of a team that was not just a group of strangers at the beginning of the year. In fact, it was Kentucky who wilted, and Wisconsin took advantage, came back, and went on to victory. Congratulations to Kaminsky, Dekker, and the rest of the veteran Wisconsin team, and their coach, Bo Ryan. It should be a good championship game Monday, when Wisconsin plays Duke, who earlier defeated Michigan State.
