MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin senior Frank Kaminsky added another honor to his resume Monday when he was named to the 2014-15 Associated Press preseason All-American team.
Kaminsky, the Badgers' 7-foot center, was joined on the AP team by North Carolina junior Marcus Paige, Louisville junior Montrezl Harrell, Wichita State junior Fred VanVleet and Duke freshman Jhalil Okafor.
Last season, Kaminsky led Wisconsin in points (13.9) and rebounds per game (6.3) and became a national sensation for his play during the team's NCAA tournament run to the Final Four. He was named the West Region's most outstanding player after totaling 28 points and 11 rebounds against Arizona during the Elite Eight. Earlier in the season, he set the single-game scoring record with 43 points against North Dakota.
Kaminsky becomes the first Wisconsin player to be named to the AP preseason All-American team since Jordan Taylor before the 2011-12 season. Michael Finley also earned the honor before the 1994-95 season.
Last month, Kaminsky was named the Big Ten's preseason player of the year. But he expressed a lack of interest in individual honors.
"I'm more impressed with the fact that we're as a team picked to win the Big Ten," Kaminsky said last month. "That's more impressive to me. You can get a plaque and a little thing saying you won all Big Ten, but I want a Big Ten championship ring."
During the first month of practice, teammates already have taken notice of Kaminsky's confidence.
"You get him the ball in a 1-on-1 situation on the block, it's over," Badgers guard Josh Gasser said. "He's kind of demanding the ball more and wanting to be our No. 1 option more so than in the past. I think he's realized how talented he is. It took him a couple years to kind of realize how good of a player he is. Once he got that, once he got some confidence, he's kind of taken off from there. He deserves all the accolades he's getting."
No. 3 Wisconsin plays host to Division II UW-Parkside in an exhibition at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Kohl Center. UW opens the season Nov. 14 at home against Northern Kentucky.
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