Just when it seemed he might be in line for more than sporadic minutes, Kenny Kaminski announced he is leaving Michigan State.
The 6-foot-8 redshirt sophomore tweeted over the weekend that he intends to transfer to another school but has not yet decided the destination. Michigan State has not yet confirmed Kaminski's transfer, which could suggest Tom Izzo was taken by surprise by the decision or still has hope of persuading him to change his mind.
If Kaminski indeed leaves Michigan State, it's a big blow to a Spartans frontcourt already trying to cope with the loss of all-Big Ten forward Adreian Payne. Branden Dawson would almost certainly have to play mostly at power forward instead of small forward and the interior depth behind him and center Matt Costello is mostly unproven.
Where Michigan State will miss Kaminski most is his outside shooting. He hit a conference-leading 49.4 percent of his threes last season, a big asset for a program losing top scorers Payne, Gary Harris and Keith Appling from last year's Elite Eight team.
Kaminski only averaged 12.2 minutes per game, however, because his interior defense and rebounding were often liabilities and because he clashed frequently with Izzo. He was suspended for Michigan State's two exhibition games and season opener last year due to unspecified team rules violations. Izzo then suspended him again for three games in December, telling reporters that Kaminski has "got to grow up."
It seemed that Kaminksi had earned Izzo's trust back during Big Ten play, which is why his decision to transfer raised eyebrows — especially because of the unusually late timing of the announcement.
It seemed he was in line to compete for a starting job next season. Instead he'll be looking to find another program where he can contribute.
- - - - - - -
Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/WWKTKY
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire