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The Woelfel World of Sports
Saturday May 15, 2010
Posted by: gwoelfel at 11:13PM CST on May 15, 2010
GERY WOELFEL When Milwaukee Bucks officials work out 2010 draft prospects for the first time Monday, there’ll be a distinct Wisconsin flavor to it. Among the 12 potential draft picks who’ll strut their stuff at the Cousins Center are former Wisconsin point guard Trevon Hughes and ex-Louisville guard Jerry Smith. Hughes and Smith were exceptional Wisconsin high school players — Hughes at Delafield St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy and Smith at Wausau East High School. They were among the most coveted players to come out of the state. Unfortunately for Smith and Hughes, neither quite lived up to his billing, having good but not great college careers. The 6-foot Hughes, who averaged 15.3 points and shot .393 from 3-point range for the Badgers last season, is considered the better pro prospect. Hughes has already had workouts with Houston and Chicago and some NBA scouts believe he has a legitimate chance to be a late second-round selection in the June 24 draft. The 6-2 Smith averaged 8.3 points and 3.2 assists as a senior at Louisville last season. He isn’t expected to be drafted, and that’s why team workouts in the next several weeks will be critical. Joining Smith in the Bucks’ workouts will be one of his teammates the last two seasons at Louisville: power forward Samardo Samuels. The 6-9 Samuels was the Cardinals’ leading scorer this season, averaging 15.3 points. He also averaged 7.3 rebounds. A native of Jamaica, Samuels has auditioned for several NBA teams already and has performed well. He is considered an upper second-round pick. It was also learned the Bucks will give look-sees on Monday to 6-10 Magnum Rolle of Louisiana Tech, an excellent defender who averaged 8.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots a game this season, and 6-2 guard Jeremy Wise, who averaged 16.6 points and 5.1 assists for Bakersfield in the NBA D-League last season. It was noted in this space last week the Bucks also plan to work out power forward Craig Brackins of Iowa State and shooting guard-small forward Paul George of Fresno State on Monday. Both players are considered candidates for the Bucks’ top pick, No. 15 overall. Two other workout participants will be power forwards Trevor Booker of Clemson and Derrick Caracter of Texas El Paso. Coaches with credentials With a slew of NBA head coaching vacancies yet to be filled, who hasn’t been mentioned as potential candidates? Well, I can think of two individuals who have somehow managed to be off the head coaching radar: Philadelphia 76ers senior vice president and assistant general manager Tony DiLeo and Bucks assistant coach Kelvin Sampson. Last season, DiLeo left his administrative post to clean up a cesspool created by Maurice Cheeks. The 76ers were 9-14 at the time and plagued by internal strife. They were, in other words, dead in the water. But DiLeo righted the 76ers ship, guiding them to a 32-27 record and into the playoffs where they gave much-more talented Orlando all it could handle. DiLeo, one of the NBA’s smartest men (He graduated maxima cum laude from the La Salle School of Business), opted to return to the front office following last season, in part to watch is son play college basketball. But some NBA associates of DiLeo insist he wouldn’t mind getting back into the coaching ranks again. As for Sampson, he clearly demonstrated his coaching prowess with highly-successful stints in college at Oklahoma and Indiana. In 14 years at those two schools, Sampson guided his team into the NCAA Tournament on 12 occasions. What’s more, while at those schools, Sampson’s teams won 22 or more games eight times. Sampson’s respect among his peers was illustrated in 2002 when he was chosen NABC National Coach of the Year at Oklahoma and when he was selected to be an assistant for George Karl on the U.S. national team at the World Championships. While Sampson was fired at Indiana after committing some major NCAA infractions -- he has repeatedly expressed his remorse — he has since established himself at the pro level. As an assistant to Scott Skiles the last two years, Sampson has endeared himself to the players — Brandon Jennings and Luc Mbah a Moute, among others — with his knowledge of the game and his ability to communicate with them. Considering all retreads and stale candidates being rumored for head coaching positions, Sampson and DiLeo offer some refreshing and intriguing new choices. Butler a wild card Da’Sean Butler hasn’t been invited to the upcoming NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago, but that doesn’t mean the former West Virginia standout won’t be there. Richard Katz, Butler’s agent, said his client will be in Chicago, where he expects to chat with NBA officials. Butler was considered a virtual first-round lock until tearing his ACL against Duke in the NCAA Tournament. Now, he is one of the draft’s wild-cards. Katz said Butler is progressing nicely but won’t be healthy to work out for any team before the draft. Katz said he’s optimistic Butler will be healthy a few weeks before the start of NBA training camps. Katz believes Butler’s injury won’t scare off teams. Said Katz: "His body of work is well-documented.’’ Wednesday May 12, 2010
Posted by: gwoelfel at 12:41PM CST on May 12, 2010
GERY WOELFEL
A figure quite familiar to Wisconsin basketball fans will be playing for the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2010 summer league team.
Alando Tucker, one of the greatest players in University of Wisconsin history, has accepted an invitation from the Bucks to be a part of their summer league team in July in Las Vegas.
Tucker, who has three NBA seasons on his resume, is an unrestricted free agent and had the opportunity to hook on with any team.
“The Bucks called and we discussed and broke down the situation,’’ said Kevin Bradbury, Tucker’s agent. “We had two or three other teams inquiry about Alando, too, but it came down to what he (Tucker) wanted to do.
“He was excited about the possibility of playing before some of the same fans who rooted for him at Wisconsin and the potential to make the roster.’’
The 6-foot-6 Tucker was chosen by the Phoenix Suns in the 2007 NBA draft, the 29th overall selection. He played two season with the Suns where his minutes were limited playing behind veterans Jason Richardson and Leandro Barbosa.
The Suns traded Tucker to Minnesota last December and never fit in. He was waived on March 22.
Tucker, who was the Big Ten Conference’s Player of the Year in 2007, has played in 51 NBA games, averaging 4.1 points.
He doesn’t have any roster promises or financial guarantees from the Bucks.
But Bradbury said the 26-year-old Tucker is looking forward to proving himself to the Bucks and has been diligently working out in Chicago in preparation of the summer league.
“He’s really been working on his outside shot,’’ Bradbury said. “He’s just very excited; he’s thinks it’s an excellent opportunity for him.’’
Tuesday May 11, 2010
Posted by: gwoelfel at 1:22PM CST on May 11, 2010
GERY WOELFEL
With their 2009-2010 season now in the rear view mirror, Milwaukee Bucks officials are looking ahead to the NBA draft.
Next Monday, the Bucks will start checking out prospective players for their first-round pick (No. 15 overall) and two second-round choices (Nos. 37 and 47).
The Bucks haven’t revealed who they’ll be taking an up-close-and-personal look at during May 17 workouts, but it is known that two potential lottery candidates will be among the participants.
They are Craig Brackins, a 6-10, 230-pound power forward from Iowa State, and Paul George, a 6-7 shooting guard/small forward from Fresno State.
Brackins supposedly had a “down’’ season for the Cyclones but still averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds.
In a recent Journal Times’ survey of nine general managers, player personnel directors and scouts, Brackins was the 18th-ranked player in the draft.
George, whom some scouts consider a better Trevor Ariza with his versatility, scoring ability and length, averaged 16.8 points and 7.2 rebounds a game last season. He shot .909 from the free throw line.
George was the 19th-best player in the draft in The Journal Times’ survey.
Two other prospects the Bucks will be evaluating Monday are Trevor Booker, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound power forward from Clemson (15.2 points and 8.4 rebounds), and 6-9 forward Derrick Caracter of Texas El Paso (14.1 points and 8.1 rebounds).
Both Caracter and Booker are considered second-round choices.
The Bucks’ workout will be held just a few days before the commencement of the pre-draft camp in Chicago.
Salmons will check out options
As noted two weeks ago, John Salmons still intends to opt out of his contract with the Bucks and jump into the unrestricted free agent pool on July 1.
Salmons, who spearheaded the Bucks’ late-season drive in the playoffs, figures to be one of the hottest swingmen available once LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson take care their business.
Several teams with plenty of disposal cash will be in the market for a quality shooting guard/small forward like Salmons but, from my humble perspective, the most logical one seems to be Miami.
It’s no secret Miami head honcho Pat Riley yearns to make the Heat major players again. And it’s no secret Wade has been putting the Heat on the Heat to get him some certifiable partners.
The Heat have been monitoring Chris Bosh’s every move late in the season and already have his agent’s number on their contacts list. (Bosh’s agent, Henry Thomas, just happens to be Wade’s agent).
And, of course, the Heat are still being linked -- and rightfully so -- to free-agent in-waiting Amar’e Stoudemire.
Does anyone really believe Riley, the most convincing salesman in the game, won’t persuade either Bosh or Stoudemire to be Wade’s new tag team partner?
Throw Salmons into the mix -- and Michael Beasley out of it -- and the Heat become certifiable title contenders again.
Story is news to Griffin
There was a recent report Bucks assistant coach Adrian Griffin was under consideration for the vacant New Orleans head coaching position.
If he is, it’s news to Griffin.
“My phone blew up when that (story) came out,’’ Griffin said. “I didn’t know anything about it. I haven’t had any contact with them.’’
Griffin has one year remaining on his contract with the Bucks.
Badgers’ Hughes getting noticed
Former University of Wisconsin point guard Trevon Hughes is picking up where he left off at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
The 6-foot Hughes, who averaged 15.3 points and shot a team-high .396 from 3-point range for the Badgers this season, played well at PIT and recently turned in strong workouts for the Houston Rockets and then Chicago Bulls.
“I think he did himself well in both of those workouts,’’ said Mike Hodges, Hughes’ agent who also represents Oklahoma City guard Kyle Weaver of Beloit. “Does Trevon have NBA talent? No doubt, he does. He just needs to find a home.’’
Hodges said Hughes has scheduled workouts with Sacramento and New Jersey and will likely audition with the Bucks as well.
Montiejunas weighs decision
Herb Rudoy, the agent for Lithuanian power forward Donatas Motiejunas, said his client isn’t certain whether he’ll remain in the draft.
“If he’s not in the lottery, maybe even the top 10, he’ll probably think about waiting until next year,‘’ Rudoy told me. “We’ll see what happens. We’ll wait right until the end.‘’
The withdrawal deadline for early entry candidates is June 14.
Montiejunas, who is just 19, was ranked the 13th-best player in The Journal Times draft poll.
Last week, another forward who was on the Bucks‘ radar -- Jan Vesley of BC Partizan -- withdrew from the draft.
Getting the job done
Priority Sports hit the tri-fecta Monday when Mark Bartelstein, Aaron Mintz, Brad Ames and Reggie Brown landed Butler star Gordon Hayward.
Priority Sports could now have three potential lottery picks: Texas small forward Damion James, Fresno State swingman Paul George and Hayward.
Bonus shots
Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings says he’s going to work on his shot over the summer and he should. Jennings shot a putrid .371 from the field this season. That was even worse than the .384 T.J. Ford shot in his 2003-2004 rookie season with the Bucks. … While the Chicago Bulls are in the market for a new coach, it should be noted they will be paying two former Bulls coaches -- Vinny Del Del ##### and Scott Skiles -- nearly $3 million next season as well. … I’ve been hearing Doug Collins’ name prominently mentioned for the Bulls job and Doc Rivers‘ name quietly mentioned. … Andrew Bogut could have easily been an all-NBA second-team selection instead of a third-team one and, in the process, padded his saving account by $500,000 -- more than enough money to upgrade seating for “Squad 6” next season.
Sunday May 9, 2010
Posted by: gwoelfel at 1:04AM CST on May 9, 2010
GERY WOELFEL
With the 15th overall selection in the 2010 NBA draft, the Milwaukee Bucks select …
Based on a survey of nine NBA officials -- general managers, player personnel directors and scouts -- the Bucks would choose from either Butler small forward Gordon Hayward, Oklahoma State shooting guard James Anderson or Marshall power forward/center Hassan Whiteside.
Those aforementioned players each received three votes in a poll I recently conducted and tied for the 15th-best player in the draft, which will be held June 24.
Hayward, Anderson and Whiteside fell one vote shy of getting into the “lottery’’ -- just behind Texas small forward Damion James and Lithuanian power forward Donatas Motiejunas, who each received four votes.
NBA officials who took part in the survey were asked to rate their top 14 draft prospects -- or lottery selections -- based strictly on talent and not what teams in the lottery might need.
Nine players were unanimous selections. They were Kentucky point guard John Wall, Ohio State guard Evan Turner, Kentucky power forward DeMarcus Cousins, Georgia Tech power forward Derrick Favors, Syracuse small forward Wesley Johnson, Georgetown power forward Greg Monroe, Wake Forest small forward Al-Farouq Aminu, Kansas shooting guard Xavier Henry and North Carolina power forward Ed Davis.
Two players -- Kansas center Cole Aldrich and Kentucky forward Patrick Patterson -- received eight votes apiece.
One player personnel director whose team is in the lottery and is seriously considering drafting a center was incredulous when told one of his peers didn’t consider Aldrich lottery material.
The 12th-best player, according to those polled, was Epke Udoh, a power forward-center from Baylor whose stock by all accounts is rising.
Some other tidbits from the survey:
-- The electrifying Wall was overwhelming regarded as the best player. Eight officials ranked him as the unequivocal best player in the draft.
The other “best player in the draft’’ vote went to Cousins, whom a veteran Western Conference scout felt was the most talented power forward to enter the draft in at least 10 years.
-- Besides Cousins and Wall, the consensus among those polled was that Turner, Favors and Johnson were clearly the “top five’’ players in this draft.
-- While several officials are convinced Wall and Turner have “superstar’’ potential, they were equally convinced this will be one of the finest drafts from a depth standpoint.
That was borne out in the number of players -- 21 -- who received at least one vote as a lottery selection.
Besides the top 14 vote-getters and Anderson, Hayward and Whiteside, Iowa State power forward Craig Brackins received two votes while Texas guard Avery Bradley, Fresno State swingman Paul George and Florida State center Solomon Alabi each received one vote.
Wednesday May 5, 2010
Posted by: gwoelfel at 1:50PM CST on May 5, 2010
GERY WOELFEL
Lazar Hayward is going to have plenty of opportunities to showcase his abilities to NBA officials over the next several weeks.
Hayward, Marquette University’s talented forward, has been invited to the NBA’s pre-draft camp in Chicago.
The pre-draft camp, which begins May 19, is for players who have a legitimate chance to be selected in the two rounds of the June 24 draft.
“The level of interest in Lazar is high, which it should be,’’ said Sam Goldfeder, Hayward’s agent.
According to several NBA scouts, Hayward is projected as an early second-round draft pick. However, his stock could certainly rise with an impressive showings at the pre-draft camp and separate team workouts.
Goldfeder said Hayward already has seven team workouts scheduled, starting May 12 with the Miami Heat.
Hayward will also work out for Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Chicago, Toronto, Detroit and Memphis.
The Milwaukee Bucks are expected to work Hayward out as well.
Hayward, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., had an outstanding senior season while starting all 32 games for the Golden Eagles.
Hayward led the team in scoring at 18.1 points a game and was the team’s top rebounder as well at 7.5 boards a game.
Because Marquette lacked any appreciable size, the 6-foot-6 Hayward usually played out of position at power forward.
Most pro teams, however, regard Hayward as small forward, or possibly shooting guard.
“He played there (at power forward) because that’s what the team needed,’’ Goldfeder said. “He’s way more versatile than what some people may think at this time.’’
n
I'm hearing Gordon Hayward, who led Butler to the NCAA championship game, is close signing an agent.
That means Hayward would be in the June draft, where he is considered a lottery selection.
The 6-foot-8 Hayward averaged 15.5 points and 8.2 rebounds last season as a sophomore.
Monday May 3, 2010
Posted by: gwoelfel at 7:19PM CST on May 3, 2010
GERY WOELFEL One of the more bizarre rumors circulating during the just-completed Milwaukee Bucks-Atlanta Hawks playoff series was that Bucks shooting guard John Salmons could wind up wearing a Hawks uni next season. As crazy as that sounds, there is a possibility it could happen. The Hawks may lose star shooting guard Joe Johnson in free agency and, if that occurs, the Hawks could target Salmons as a possible replacement. Salmons has a player-option clause in his contract, meaning he has the choice to stick with the Bucks for another season at $5.8 million or become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and sign with the team of his choice. The Bucks have had some conversations with Salmons’ agent, Joel Bell, about signing an extension, but that isn’t likely to happen. Salmons, 30, was a godsend for the Bucks this season. He averaged 19.9 points in 30 regular-season games after being acquired in a trade with Chicago. He averaged 18 points in the seven-game Eastern Conference first-round series against the Hawks.
One for all, all for one Based strictly on talent, the Bucks didn’t have any business extending the Hawks to seven games in the playoffs. But the Bucks proved once again proved that success isn’t always predicated on ability. It’s also based on hard work, commitment and unity. The 2009-2010 Bucks edition was about as close of a team as you’ll find. “We didn’t have the typical NBA issues, the agendas,’’ Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. Added Salmons: “It was a great locker room. It’s good to have teammates you want to be around. It seemed everybody was on the same page.’’
Showing their loyalty While most of the Bucks are putting away their sneakers for the summer, there are several who are going to keep playing. Starting small forward Carlos Delfino (Argentina), backup center Primoz Brezec (Slovenia) and reserve forward Ersan Ulanova (Turkey) said they plan to play for their respective national teams in this summer’s World Games in Turkey. Bucks center Andrew Bogut has played for the Australian national team, but won’t be able to this summer after suffering a dislocated elbow, sprained wrist and two broken fingers. A formal announcement on Bogut’s absence from the Australian team is expected within the next couple of weeks.
Long year for Ilyasova Ilyasova figures to set an unofficial Bucks record for most games played within a year. Last summer, Ilyasova said he played 25 games for the Turkish national team. He then played 96 games for Bucks this season (including preseason, regular season and postseason) and will play another 25 this summer for the Turkish national team. That would be 146 games in a one-year span. “I’m young and I like to play,’’ the 22-year-old Ilyasova said, smiling. “When I get older, maybe that changes.’’
Bell’s agent will talk to Bucks Mark Bartelstein, the agent for Charlie Bell, said he intends to talk to Bucks general manager John Hammond and Skiles soon about Bell being late for a team meeting Sunday in Atlanta. Bell was deactivated for Game 7 against the Hawks. “I’m going to talk to John and Scott, but until I talk to them, it’s not fair to say anything,’’ Bartelstein said. “It‘s an unfortunate way to end the season. “But they know what kind of person Charlie is; he’s a good guy. He made a mistake; it wasn‘t intentional. “I know Charlie feels really bad about it, and he’s going to do his best to make amends.’’ Mbah a Moute has big plans Luc Mbah a Moute said he intends on working on his offensive game this summer, but he made it clear that defense is his calling card: “One of my goals is to be Defensive Player of the Year,’’ Mbah a Moute said. Mbah a Moute plans to return to Cameroon and then attend the World Cup in South Africa. Mbah a Moute is a huge soccer fan and played the sport until his twin brother Emmanuel Bidas a Moute introduced the game of basketball to him. Bidas a Moute is a senior at Texas State, where he also played basketball
Going to Vegas Bucks reserve forward Darnell Jackson, who was ineligible to play in postseason play after being signed late in the regular season as a free agent, said he’ll play for the Bucks’ summer league team in Las Vegas. Interestingly, Bucks starting point guard Brandon Jennings, who started 82 regular-season and all seven postseason-games, said there was a “possibility’’ he would also play for the Bucks this summer.
Thursday April 29, 2010
Posted by: gwoelfel at 6:46PM CST on April 29, 2010
GERY WOELFEL
The Milwaukee Bucks caught a huge break in Wednesday night’s Game 5 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta.
With 1:20 remaining in the game, Ersan Ilyasova made a terrific play, throwing the ball while falling out of bounds under the Bucks’ basket to Carlos Delfino in the left corner.
After receiving the ball, though, Delfino hesitated before successfully delivering a clutch 3-pointer. The basket put the Bucks ahead 86-82.
The Bucks went on to win 91-87 and take a 3-2 advantage in their best-of-seven game Eastern Conference first-round series. Game 6 will be played Friday night at the Bradley Center.
Delfino admitted after practice Thursday he almost didn’t take the critical shot.
“I thought the ball hit the rim before it started going out of bounds,’’ Delfino said. “I thought there was new shot clock. When I got the ball, I was going to take my time and look around.
“But Brandon Jennings started yelling, ‘You got to shoot it. You got to shoot it.’
“So I checked the clock. I saw there were only six seconds left, so I shot the ball.’’
Not only did Delfino hit the clutch shot, he took it after having connected on just one of his previous six attempts from the field in the game.
Despite his shooting struggles, Delfino insisted he wasn’t reluctant about taking an important shot.
Said a smiling Delfino: “I don’t think of my last shot; I think of my next one.’’
Jennings comes up short
Bucks general manager John Hammond and Bucks coach Scott Skiles have been lobbying on behalf of Jennings for Rookie of the Year honors.
But their efforts went in vain as Jennings finished a surprising third in the voting.
As expected, Sacramento guard Tyreke Evans easily won the award with Golden State guard Stephon Curry finishing second.
Evans received 491 points and Curry received 391. Jennings was a distant third with 204.
Interestingly, Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson received two third-place votes.
What pressure?
There is a train of thought that in order for the Bucks to win the series against the Hawks they have to win Game 6 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
The thinking is if the Bucks lose Game 6, the Hawks would have the momentum when they return home to Atlanta for Game 7 on Sunday.
But Bucks coach Scott Skiles isn’t buying into that theory and contends his players shouldn’t feel any pressure.
“This isn’t real pressure; pressure is perceived,’’ Skiles said. “There are a lot of people in jobs with legitimate pressure. … This is a basketball game.’’
Numbers game
The Bucks and Hawks have compiled some remarkably similar numbers through the first five games of their series.
To wit;
* The Bucks are shooting .463 from the field; the Hawks are .461.
* The Bucks are shooting .337 from 3-point range; the Hawks .358.
* The Bucks are shooting .796 from the line; the Hawks .784.
* The Bucks have 198 rebounds; the Hawks 193.
* The Bucks have 85 assists; the Hawks 90.
Full house
The Bucks-Hawks’ game Friday night has already sold out. It’s the third straight postseason sellout at the Bradley Center. … John Salmons, a career 80 percent free throw shooter, has connected on 23 of 24 free throws in the series -- .958. … TNT’s Charles Barkley might want to do some homework. During Wednesday night’s coverage of the Bucks-Hawks game, he was asked to name the Bucks’ starters. Sir Charles failed miserably, citing only Salmons and Jennings without any assistance from his colleagues. … Speaking of TNT’s coverage, Kevin McHale, who worked the game, might want to do some homework as well and learn the proper pronunciation of Dan Gadzuric’s last name. … Delfino on veterans Kurt Thomas and Jerry Stackhouse: “They’ve been great for our team. They are our pillars.’’
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