Ex-Michigan State forward Kenny Kaminski transfers to Ohio
Kenny Kaminski's new destination won't require him to don new colors.
The former top 100 prospect will trade the green and white of Michigan State for the green and white of a school in his home state.
Kaminski will transfer to Ohio University, the Athens Messenger first reported Monday. The 6-foot-8 Medina, Ohio, native has two years of eligibility remaining and is applying for a waiver in hopes that he can play without sitting out next season.
The addition of Kaminski is high-risk, high-reward transfer for new Ohio coach Saul Phillips.
On one hand, Kaminski is a decorated recruit who shot 49.4 percent from behind the arc last season and might have started for the Spartans had he remained in East Lansing. On the other hand, Kaminski ran into academic and behavioral trouble off the court at Michigan State that led coach Tom Izzo to dismiss him from the program three weeks ago.
"After he repeatedly failed to meet the necessary obligations, it became apparent it was time to dismiss Kenny from the program," Izzo said in a statement "Although this is disappointing, it is a minor setback as we are coming off one of our best summers in recent years. I remain excited about the prospects of our team moving forward."
Nonetheless, Kaminski is probably a worthwhile risk for an upper-echelon MAC program like Ohio.
Maybe the transition won't be easy to a university rated the nation's No. 1 party school three years ago. Maybe the defensive issues that limited Kaminski to 12.2 minutes per game last season will resurface. But Ohio doesn't get a crack at many players the caliber of Kaminski, so it's understandable Phillips would take the gamble when given the chance.
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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!
