Life really imitates art
Wisconsin hoop star’s career resembles his favourite TV show, Entourage
An ascendant star heads west, with his best friends in tow, to Tinseltown, where boom times and madcap adventures await. As that star, Frank Kaminsky, winds down his Wisconsin basketball career, his life has begun to resemble one of his favorite television series, Entourage, right down to the guest appearance by a celebrity playing himself.
Kaminsky’s memory-making trip to California began with a meet-and-greet with the actor Will Ferrell when a star for Ferrell was unveiled on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame. It ended with Kaminsky’s big-cheese status on display against Arizona in the Badgers’ successful defence of their West Regional title in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
In between, Kaminsky and his teammates were treated to the quintessential Los Angeles experience, including a private screening of the movie based on the Entourage series, three months ahead of its scheduled release. They received the invitation from the producer Doug Ellin, a Badgers fan.
Kaminsky, who averaged 26 points, seven rebounds and 38.5 minutes a game in the wins over North Carolina and Arizona that returned Wisconsin to the Final Four, said he identified with the leading man of Entourage, Vincent Chase, played by Adrian Grenier.
In Kaminsky’s Wisconsin entourage, the role of best friend (Eric Murphy on the show, played by Kevin Connolly) is inhabited by Jordan Smith, a reserve guard. The position of the abrasive agent Ari Gold (played by Jeremy Piven) could be filled by only one person: coach Bo Ryan, Kaminsky said, “because he yells at us all the time.”
The Chase character, loosely based on Mark Wahlberg, appears as comfortable in the spotlight as Kaminsky is in the lane. But it was not always so. Kaminsky needed time to grow accustomed to being the offence’s centre of attention. And when he watches Entourage — he has seen all 96 episodes multiple times, he said — Kaminsky recognizes the same ambivalence he has felt about a life lived for public (and material) consumption.
What Kaminsky likes best about Entourage — both the Hollywood version and his own — is that behind all the glamour and the glitter, the story is of close friends following their own collective compass.
“Vince likes the spotlight because he’s a movie star,” Kaminsky said, “but does he really actually care about what people think? I don’t think so.”
Kaminsky, an all-purpose 7-footer, did not look ready for his close-up during last year’s Final Four. In the Badgers’ semifinal loss to Kentucky, he did not attempt a free throw or a three-pointer.
In Wisconsin’s games this year at Staples Center, Kaminsky played with a headliner’s assertiveness. He drove doggedly enough to take 20 free throws in the two games but also stepped back to try three three-pointers, two of which he made.
“I’m just going to try to do whatever I can to help our team,” Kaminsky said Saturday night in the afterglow of the Badgers’ 85-78 victory over Arizona.
The Johnny Drama character in Kaminsky’s entourage is Sam Dekker, a genuine talent who struggled to step out from his Badgers brother’s shadow. Dekker, a junior forward, took a giant leap Saturday with a 27-point performance that included 5-of-6 shooting from behind the arc.
On the way to being named the outstanding player of the West Region, Dekker said, he realized how fortunate he was to be playing alongside Kaminsky.
“It helps to have this guy next to me get a lot of attention,” Dekker said of Kaminsky. “Some guys turn their heads, and I’m able to get some easy looks.”
Dekker attempted two three-pointers last year against Kentucky and finished with 15 points. No wonder he and Kaminsky are relishing getting another shot at the unbeaten Wildcats.
It may be the same matchup as last year, but Kaminsky and Dekker see themselves as different, more polished performers. This rematch is the carrot that kept them from giving serious consideration to leaving Wisconsin last year for the NBA.
“It wasn’t a tough decision for me, how painful that loss was and how much I wanted to improve my game,” Dekker said. “Frank and I both, we really didn’t have to talk about
If I’m given the opportunity, I obviously would not say no
it much. That loss left a sour taste in our mouths, so we wanted to get back.”
Kaminsky did not sound like a Hollywood big shot, or even the big man on campus, when he said, “I can’t be more grateful for the opportunity that the school has given me to be put in this position.”
It was at Wisconsin that Kaminsky acquired the nickname Frank the Tank, inspired by Ferrell’s character in the movie Old School.
To meet the actor himself was a thrill, said Kaminsky, who interviewed Ferrell for an Access Hollywood segment. He described the experience on his Instagram account as “by far the coolest thing I’ve done.”
After meeting Ferrell, Kaminsky said he believed they were probably best friends now. If he had not been joking, it would have been proof that he could have a bright future in Los Angeles, the land of air kisses and temporary sets. A charge-drawing flop on Saturday against Arizona was another sign that he could fit in fine among the acting crowd.
With his fine play this season, Kaminsky may be rising high enough to show up on the radar of the belly-flopping Los Angeles Lakers, who are headed for the draft lottery.
“If I’m given the opportunity, I obviously would not say no,” Kaminsky said. “This is a great place.”