MILWAUKEE — When Benet Academy lost its point guard to injury at the end of the 2011 season, Frank Kaminsky filled the role.

In November, Kaminsky set the Wisconsin scoring record with 43 points, including 6-for-6 on three-pointers, in a 103-85 win over North Dakota.

Kaminsky is not the typical 7-footer.

“He’s a big matchup problem for everybody because he has the ability to go outside, he can put it down on the floor and he does score very well around the basket,” said Oregon coach Dana Altman, whose seventh-seeded Ducks (24-9) will face the second-seeded Badgers (27-7) in the third round of the NCAA Tournament at 4:45 p.m. today at the Bradley Center. “He’s a unique challenge for someone 7-feet to be able to go outside and draw the defense out, put the ball on the floor, and then his post moves inside are pretty good.”

That is the kind of scouting report Kaminsky has worked to build.

“My coaches before I got here helped me work on all my skills,” he said. “It comes from getting in the gym. I am kind of a gym rat in the offseason. I love being in there working on everything. It has been nice to be an inside and outside player here.”

The 234-pound Kaminsky averaged 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game as a freshman before boosting those numbers to 4.2 points and 1.8, respectively, last year. He was an all-Big 10 Conference selection this season when he led the Badgers with 13.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

“We graduated three of our frontcourt players last year so I knew it was going to be my time when they graduated so I prepared myself for it,” Kaminsky said. “It is just growth, mentally and physically, that has really gone a long way for me. Getting out there this year and getting experience has been good for me.”

Kaminsky has shot 51.9 percent from the field and 37.5 percent on three-pointers. He leads the Badgers with 57 blocks and ranks fourth with 45 assists.

“I knew I was capable of this,” Kaminsky said. “It was just going out and doing it and not letting my teammates down.”

Kaminsky hasn’t had to worry about that this season.

“If you looked at him in the offseason, you saw the strides he was making,” Wisconsin guard Ben Brust said. “He does a great job finishing and can step out and knock down the three. He is very versatile. He can get in the lane and make passes.”

Kaminsky averaged less than 10 minutes on the court during his first two seasons.

“Last year, I don’t know if I was capable of having this kind of sustained success from the first game to now,” he said. “I felt like I had flashes of it last year, but it comes down to consistency. I had to get better and get myself ready for when it did happen.”

Brust was 16-for-19 from the field while scoring 43 points in 28 minutes against North Dakota in just his sixth career start on Nov. 19.

“I am just fine tuning everything from my shot to post moves,” Kaminsky said.

And if Wisconsin needs help at point guard, Kaminsky is willing to help out there as well.

“If I had to, I’m sure I could,” Kaminsky said.