SB Nation - Luc Mbah a Moute

Recap: Sixers 99, Bucks 86

Frank Madden — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:54:18 -0000

More photos » by Michael Perez - AP

Sammy and the Sixers towered over Bogut & Co.

If you're looking for an explanation for the Bucks' opening night loss in Philly, just pick a stat. Really, any stat. Because if you compare the bottom lines in the box score you'll notice that Philly was better in every category save for offensive rebounds. The Bucks didn't shoot well, which isn't surprising. The Bucks also held to form in the foul department, sending Philly to the line for 15 more free throw attempts (which translated into 18 more points). And while the Bucks normally make a living forcing the other team into conceding turnovers and cheap points, tonight they were the more wasteful ones, turning it over 20 times and looking physically overmatched against a Sixer team that was faster, more intimidating, and more decisive.

Aside from a second quarter surge that saw Brandon Jennings (17 points, nine boards, nine dimes) quarterback the Bucks to a promising 47-41 halftime lead, every quarter went Philly's way, which shouldn't be a surprise. Andrew Bogut looked out of sorts and uninvolved (eight points on nine shots, six boards), while Michael Redd sputtered in the second half to finish with 17 on 17 shots. No one else aside from Jennings made much of an impact, though it's not really going to matter when Bogut and Redd are both off their game. While Philly's not a great team by any stretch of the imagination, they have the type of athleticism that will give the Bucks problems. More after the jump.

Three Bucks

Brandon Jennings. Could we have reasonably expected any more from the kid? The rookie's promising debut was the only thing that made this vaguely watchable from a Bucks' perspective, with five turnovers (a couple of them coming in the waning minutes as he started to press) being the biggest blemish on his line. And as we feared/expected, there were also a few moments where he was far too content to put up off-balance jumpers.

But for the most part Jennings let the game come to him, and was not surprisingly at the heart of the Bucks' two best spells of the game: an 18-4 run midway through the second quarter as well as a late 9-0 surge that briefly brought the Bucks to within five. There were a couple "wow" moments--coast-to-coast layups in the second and fourth quarters where his blinding speed was unmistakable--but mostly he was making solid decisions, taking what the defense was offering, and getting down below the foul line enough to pick up loose balls (I'd be somewhat surprised if he has another game all season where he grabs nine boards).

Lou Williams--himself still a youngin'--was a good first matchup since he was unlikely to punish Jennings' lack of physicality, and Jennings got the better of his counterpart for much of the night. But Williams scored 11 of his 16 in the second half, and Jennings could only watch after picking up his fourth foul with five minutes left in the third.

Ersan Ilyasova. Was Ilyasova good on Friday night? Um, that's overstating it. In truth there wasn't anyone beyond Jennings who stood out in a truly good way. Ilyasova was nothing if not uneven (11 points on 10 shots, four boards and five fouls in 18 minutes), looking dangerous in the pick/pop with Jennings one moment, dribbling out of control the next. Among his five fouls, at least two were on block/charge plays where he simply came to help too late; a third was when he blatantly took a foul at halfcourt to stop a break.

What's promising is that Ilyasova did show some good understanding with Jennings, working the pick/pop together to get Ilyasova some good looks that he'll hopefully convert more of from here on out. Interestingly, Skiles went small with Ersan and Hakim Warrick as his bigs on a couple occasions, including at the start of the Bucks' 18-4 second quarter run.

Michael Redd. There were some signs early on of the old Mike Redd, as he scored 12 in the first half along with some pretty respectable defense to pace the Bucks. Unlike Bogut, his movement appears pretty much back to where it was, which is good, because it's painfully obvious that the Bucks can't afford Redd to be off his game.

Three Numbers

29. The weirdest part of the first 24 minutes? The Sixers had only five free throw attempts, well below what we expect from an opponent of the hack-happy Bucks. Eddie Jordan must have noticed at halftime, because his gang came out looking to take it to the Bucks in the second half, and sure enough, they racked up 29 freebie attempts in the final 24 minutes. When you look at the two teams' personnel it probably shouldn't be that surprising, as the Sixers were simply too athletic and physical for the Bucks to handle in the second half.

15. Three quarters of the Bucks' 20 turnovers came in the second half, leading to plenty of transition opportunities and depriving the cold-shooting Bucks (40%) of much-needed possessions.

6. No Sixer particularly stood out, and Williams and Iguodala tied for the most shots with just 12 apiece. But what they lacked in star performances they made up for in balance, as Iggy led six Sixers in double figures with 19 points, nine boards and seven dimes.

Three Good

Young Buck. He's looked like the real deal ever since he first put on a Bucks jersey in Vegas, and tonight we finally saw him bring the goods in a real game. Take heart, Bucks fans.

Where games happen. Did I expect a win? Nah, not really, But on opening night just have a game to watch is something worth appreciating. Now we just need a good game.

Saturday Night Fever. The Bucks were the last team to start the season, so it's just as well that they only have to wait 24 hours to try to bounce back from a disappointing opener. Bring on the Pistons already.

Three Bad

Lacking Luc. Was anyone expecting Luc Mbah a Moute to only play 18 minutes? Starter Carlos Delfino was suspended. Joe Alexander is hurt (and apparently the Bucks have given up on him anyway). And the Sixers' swingmen seem like just the type of athletic, versatile players who Mbah a Moute would be especially useful against.

Apparently not. Luc came out trying to play like a small forward offensively, but had just three missed jumpers to show for it and Skiles seemed to lose faith quickly, opting instead to go with mostly three guard lineups. Considering that meant Charlie Bell getting 31 minutes and Roko Ukic playing nearly nine minutes, mostly as a two guard, I don't really get it.

Emo Bogut. I thought we'd retired this term, but as has too often been the case against Philly, Bogut just couldn't get into the game. On a handful of occasions Bogut fumbled quick interior passes from teammates, and he generally looked sluggish following a solid preseason. Some blame also goes on his teammates, who didn't provide him many post looks, but in general the Bucks need a lot more from Bogut than this.

Brickin'. This applied to a lot of things tonight. We'll see much worse from the Bucks than 40% shooting this year, but it wasn't a good start, as Kurt Thomas was the only guy who made better than 50% of his shots. And the line wasn't much kinder, as the Bucks converted just 11/19 from the stripe. Oh, and I'm officially giving up hope on the whole "Andrew Bogut becomes a respectable free throw shooter" dream.

Game Thread 1: Bucks/76ers

Alex Boeder — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:00:09 -0000

Fresh Prince: In West Philadelphia, neither born nor raised.

0-0		0-1
	vs.
October 30, 2009 - 6:00 PM CT
Wachovia Center
TV: FSN Wisconsin HD Radio: 620 WTMJ
Probable starters:
Brandon Jennings	PG	Louis Williams
Michael Redd	SG	Andre Iguodala
Luc Mbah a Moute	SF	Thaddeus Young
Kurt Thomas	PF	Elton Brand
Andrew Bogut	C	Samuel Dalembert

Three Points

The Point. When news arrived that Jennings would start (gracias, Scott Skiles -- I like Skiles pronounced in Spanish), my eternal point-guard-state-of-mind inevitably turned to a charming little opening night matchup: Louis Williams vs Brandon Jennings. Williams (6-1, 175) is one of the few starting points in the NBA who is both as slight as Jennings (6-1, 170) and as potentially electric.
So while Jennings won't be physically overmatched, make no mistake: He will face a steep challenge defending the Sixer point guard. Sure, Williams made a nice 3.8 free throws per game last year; more illustrative is that he drew 174 fouls and attempted 1018 field goals, for a DrawFoul% (yes, DrawFoul%, it's almost 2010, party people) of 17.1. For perspective, Ramon Sessions led Milwaukee at 15.7 last year. Translation: It ain't easy staying in front of Williams. Then again, Williams shot a career-low 39.8 % from the field last year, so questionable outside shooting is another facet the starting point guards might share. However, Williams started Philly's opener in fine form, converting 6-9 from the field (and 2-3 from outside) for 18 points, 4 assists, and no turnovers in a 120-106 loss in Orlando on Wednesday.
Marreese's Pieces in Sam's Club. While the Sixers were the NBA's worst three-point shooting team last season, they are liable to inflict much harm in the paint. We know Williams is able to get into the lane at his leisure. And Philadelphia has a trio of very capable big men in Samuel Dalembert, Elton Brand, and Marreese Speights.
The Haitian Sensation in particular has scored much historical success against Bogut -- especially in the last three head-to-head matchups, all Philly wins. In those three contests, Dalembert averaged 12.7 points, compared to Bogut's 4.7. That will not work. And don't overlook Speights, who made 10-11 from the field for 26 points off the bench in the team's opener. Meanwhile, defensive ace Mbah a Moute will shadow (among others) the fast-rising Thaddeus Young, whom the Sixers settled for on draft night a couple years ago, writes Bob Cooney at Philly.com, oh dear...
Little did they know that then-general manager Billy King was working the phone lines feverishly. So busy was King looking for a deal that he did not come out to address the media about his draft night (which also included getting current backup Jason Smith) until just after midnight.

"Our main thing that night was to move up to get Yi," King said recently. "We were trying to get up in the top where the proven players were, which was clearly in the top seven or eight. As it turns out in this case, maybe some of the best moves you make are the ones you don't make."

And maybe fighting for a playoff spot and landing late in the lottery isn't always so precarious. Let's remember to cheer for wins, only settle for a high draft pick, and not the other way around. Speaking of which...
Game Prediction? Personally: Bucks 88 Sixers 86 (not Frank-co-signed). Surely the Sixers will look sharp -- they'll don an updated, classic uniform this year. But it's late-October and thus, Milwaukoptimism doesn't spoil ~~for easily one, two weeks~~. What say you?

Philadelphia Coverage

Sixers 4 Guidos / Liberty Ballers / Philadunkia / Philly

More Thoughts (And Questions) On The Upcoming Ben Ball Season

Nestor — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:00:49 -0000

More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP

ND, MR, MM & JA signing autographs on media day. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Let's continue with the story lines on the Ben Ball warriors coming out of Media Day. One thing I am already liking about this upcoming season is the absence of incessant chatter from the local (and national media) driving the narrative that UCLA basketball season is a bust if there is no Pac-10 championship or drive towards the Final-4. Don't get me wrong. I want the Bruins to win the Pac-10 title every season and make a hard charge to the Final 4 (and banner number 12 and beyond) in every post season. However, the reality - especially in today's world of one and done ballers - it is not going to happen every year and there will be times when the Bruins will be in semi-rebuilding and reloading mode.

Well this is one of those years during which observers both inside and outside the BN are not going to expect a lot out of UCLA in terms of conference championships or deep run in the Dance, but we do have a team that has the potential to develop into something fun to watch and achieve a result somewhere in between what Howland accomplished between his second and third season at UCLA (something beyond just a 1st round tourney team but not necessarily a Final-4/Pac-10 championship team). Where the Bruins end up will depend on number of factors.

We will have to find out what kind of transition JA makes as the full time floor general replacing DC (who made a fantastic transition taking over for JF). From the LA Times:

Anderson expected to be a factor last season but got boxed out by Collison's decision to remain in school one more year. As a result, he played only 8.6 minutes a game.

The sophomore is eager to make up for lost time. "I definitely know how to run a team," he said. "This year, I'm going to be allowed to do that."

From what I saw in JA last year I saw a kid who certainly has the tools to become a good floor general and get the ball to his talented team-mates. However, the question I have in mind is his defensive mindset. How good and aggressive will he be defensively and generate pressure on the opposing guard. He did struggle at times during last season. For some reason I have bad memories from the Wasington game at Pauley (even though we won that game) of moments when DC left the court. I am hopeful that JA is going to grow into his new role and get to work out the kinks during the non conference. He will get to do that against very tough competition which will include dates with the Jayhawks at Pauley and a solid Mississippi State team in the Wooden Class. JA is not the only question mark around this team though. More after the jump.

I am also wondering who will emerge as the go to guy in this team in terms of when we really need a key bucket. Last year it was all about DC, JS and PAA. The year before ... well we had options such as KL, RW, LRMAM along with DC and JS. Of course we had the AA/JF core in preceding years. Who are going to be the scorers this year? JMM thinks everyone is ready to step up:

"It makes it a lot easier - we don't have to just look for 'that' guy," Morgan said, after the team serenaded legendary coach John Wooden on video, celebrating his 99th birthday. "Last year it was, 'We're in trouble, we need to go to Darren, we need to go to Jrue, we need to go to Josh.' Now I feel like we can go to anybody on the team and they can take care of business."

I love his enthusiasm but we will have to see. It will be interesting to see how ML emerges this season. Part of me still wishes he got more time last season, especially given JH's tendency to take time off on defense. I think ML has the natural ability to one of those guards who will be able to create offense with his athleticism (within the frame work of Howland's scheme) by attacking the basket and also connecting from the outside. I also like the energy he brings on defense (at least based on what I saw from last year. In addition to ML, another kid who could provide some scoring punch right off the bat is TH who is thankfully allright and was cleared to practice. From Jon Gold in the Daily News:

Honeycutt enters the season as the hottest ticket in the group (of freshmen), rated the No. 3 small forward by Scout.com, a double-double force from nearby Sylmar High. He was cleared to practice on Wednesday after re-aggravating a stress fracture in his back during the summer.

"I'm going to have that mentality that I have to go in there and do whatever I can for the team," Honeycutt said. "Whether it's score the most or lock up the best player. A lot of people say there's not really a go-to-guy - I'm going to try to be that guy this year."

The combination of TH and other highly regarded freshman - MM from Oregon - is going to be fun to watch. From what I have heard and seen (from his couple of games on television) he strikes me as a little more polished version of LRMAM when he came into college. However, I have no expectation that MM will produce the same way as LRMAM who was just an athletic FREAK in his first year at UCLA. However, if MM can bring that defensive energy and we can combine that with TH and ML's athleticism, it could be something really fun to watch.

We will also probably get long range bombs from MR and ND. However, we will reall need MR to step up in big conference games and ND to toughen up his defense (and build on his tangible improvement he demonstrated last season.

We also have quesitons at the 5 spot and who is going to fill the big shoes left behind by PAA. From the LA Times:

As the heart of last season's team, Aboya brought grit and tenacity to the middle.

"It's a very tough thing to match," Howland said. "Especially on the defensive end of the floor where he made up for other people's mistakes because he drew so many charges."

Sophomores Drew Gordon and J'mison Morgan will compete to replace him, along with senior James Keefe, who started at power forward for part of last season. Freshman Anthony Stover is in the mix.

Injuries hit Keefe (shoulder) and Gordon (knee) this summer; both are working to get back to full strength. Morgan, looking trim after an out-of-shape freshman year, still has much to prove.

Well there are lot of questions here. We will have to see what kind of shape JK and DG are in early in the season. Coaches have to be careful about how they work them in early on. We have talked anough about JMM's footwork and need to play better defense. The report in terms of how hard he worked off season to get in better shape is certainly encouraging.

AS is a definite curiosity. Have heard great things about his athletic ability but I think we can expect him to be pretty raw and unpolished early on. We will also have couple of other freshman forwards in BL and RN (who MR described as a "bull" in the LAT report linked above). I think those guys will definitely get a chance to compete early on but it will all depend on how they pick up on how to play Ben Ball D. So the whole team is going to be a collective work in progress to say the least and they are going to need every out of conference game to develop chemistry among themselve and get accustomed to Coach Howland's style and demand of playing basketball. What we do know is that Coach Howland is going to have some pure athletes to work with.

The group of freshman and sophomore he has now are collectively more athletic than the group he had when the freshman group of DC/LRMAM/PAA/MR/Ryan Wright joined up with AA/JF/LMR/JS. So that said here is the biggest question I will leave everyone with. Will the current batch of Ben Ball warriors play with the same passion, desire, determination and intensity we saw from the crew led by AA and JF in their second year in Westwood? I think the answer to that question will have a lot to do with what kind of season we have this year in Howland.

GO BRUINS.

Checking In With Coach Howland And Ben Ball Warriors

Nestor — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:48:16 -0000

Don't forget we are also a basketball school.

So moutekicksboute reminds us of that in this fanshot, which is a good occasion to check in with Coach Howland and Ben Ball warriors. We have some news bits concerning the upcoming season, great stories (and well tweets) concerning our classic Ben Ball warriors, and Howland's excitement about working with the new ones.

Let's start with moutekicksboute's fanshot about WWL pverviews of the big picture storylines of the upcoming Pac-10 hoops season. Here is their quick outlook on this year's Ben Ball warriors:

This is a whole new era for coach Ben Howland. The Bruins don't have Alfred Aboya, Josh Shipp or Darren Collison for the first time in four years. The three-year Final Four run now seems like distant history. The Bruins will be leaning heavily on potential stud Malcolm Lee as well as Drew Gordon, Nikola Dragovic, Michael Roll, Jerime Anderson, James Keefe and J'mison Morgan -- not exactly national names. But the competition at every position should be as intense as it has been under Howland. He will be searching for an identity for this squad early and often in fall practices. Lee might hold the only lock on a position, while the rest clearly are open. UCLA has a challenging nonconference slate, but the talent should carry this squad toward the top of the Pac-10, getting the Bruins enough wins to make another NCAA tournament appearance.

I think that sounds about right. They have ND as one of their Key Pac-10 players to watch and marked MM and TH as the two of the conference freshmen they can't wait to see:

• Mike Moser, PF, UCLA: Offensively, Moser is a jump shot away from being an all-conference candidate. Defensively, he has the physical attributes to guard all three perimeter positions. [...]

• Tyler Honeycutt, WF, UCLA: He may be headed for a redshirt year if his lower back doesn't heal in time. Nonetheless, this late-blooming wing type has a bevy of upside. He can stroke the 3-point shot and pass with the best of them. And his shot-blocking ability is impressive.

We will cross our fingers wrt to TH. There will be enough time in the coming weeks to talk about the team but suffice to say at this point we can expect this team to go through the same growing pains, the team with core of JF/AA/DC/LRMAM did in their early years. I certainly don't think we are going to be one of the favorites to contend for the Pac-10 titles, however, I do know that under Howland's leadership, it will be exciting o see these kids grow and develop into warriors. Meanwhile, speaking of those classic Ben Ball warriors we have pretty cool updates involving LRMAM, PAA, RW and AA. More after the flip.

In case you missed it, Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran an awesome piece on the Prince going back to root of his dreams:

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute remembers being 15 or so when he left his home in Cameroon to attend a NBA-sponsored camp in Johannesburg.

When it was over, a woman addressed the young players from across Africa.

Mbah a Moute's English wasn't so good, so this is what he thought he heard her say:

"If you see me again, you will have made it."

Typical teenager he was, Mbah a Moute recalls rolling his eyes and thinking, Who is this person and what is she talking about?

Several years later, when Mbah a Moute was interviewing with Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond before the 2008 draft, the memory resurfaced during their conversation.

The woman, Hammond told him, was Kim Bohuny, the NBA's vice president for international basketball operations.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

"It was funny," Mbah a Moute said Tuesday. "Later, I called her and told her I was

Well last February when Bohuny visited Milwaukee while making her rounds through the NBA, LRMAM took our to dinner to talk about that day in Johannesburg. He completed the dream. Just a beautiful story which you can read in entirety over here.

Meanwhile, while the Prince is living his dream Coach Howland tweeted couple of days ago giving us an update on the President. PAA was back in town this past week. Per Howland he headed to France this past weekend to play for Gravelines, "a professional team in 1st division." Howland said PAA looked "great!"

Howland also had AA, DC, and RW (arguably three of the greatest Ben Ball warriors) at a fundraiser celebrating the First Annual HDSA LA Hoop-A-Thon, which was held at Pauley Pavilion. By all account that event chaired was a huge success. Again just fantastic to see these guys remain such a big part of our program and doing whatever they can to lend Howland's efforts such high profile assists. He was pretty exuberant about how much it meant to him and Mrs. Howland.

Speaking of excitement, Coach Howland is fired up to work with the incoming Ben Ball warriors who he met with last week. He can't wait neither can rest of Bruin Nation.

GO BRUIINS.

Ben Ball Roundup: UCLA = PointGuardU, Collison's Night & Other Draft Notes

Nestor — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:04:21 -0000

More photos » by Seth Wenig - AP

DC's Big Night In The Big Apple

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Still feeling jazzed this morning about how it all worked out for one of the great Bruins of all time. While it was amusing to see how the much hyped Jrue Holiday (who never lived up to his reputation of being an all world basketball player out of high school and failed to display the will and passion to win and defensive intensity necessary to excel in Coach Howland's basketball program) kept dropping out of the lottery round, the best part of the night was to see a sharp dressed DC up on that podium.

DC became a special Ben Ball warrior last night elevating him to another level beyond AA, JF, RW, LRMAM and KL. He becomes the first four year player under Ben Howland to get drafted in NBA's first round and I think that is pretty significant. Most of you have already read the emotional tone DC struck when he was asked about his four years at UCLA. You can't put any price around those words and you can bet DC will officially now serve as the perfect posterboy for Coach Howland's UCLA program when he is going out to the living room of parents of elite recruits who are looking to UCLA as more than just a one year stop at a five star hotel with a basketball gym. Oh and with DC's selection we can officially start calling Howlandwood PointGuardU with alums such as JF, RW and Baron Davis already shining in the league.

Going back to DC, as Dohn notes in his coverage today he is going into a great situation and he sounds prepared and well briefed about his new team:

"I didn't know if it was for sure I was going there, but I did know a lot about their organization," Collison said. "I didn't know they were going to pick me up until the minute before I got picked."

Collison, who played four seasons and went to three Final Fours with UCLA, said he knew the Hornets were highly interested because coach Byron Scott was in contact with him several times. He was the Hornets' only draft pick and will back up Paul, who averaged 10.4 assists, but also 40.2 minutes per game.

"Everybody in this generation wants to learn from the (best) point guards, Chris Paul or (Utah's) Deron Williams," said the 6-foot Collison. "I have an opportunity to compete against him every day in practice and get better. I know the reason they drafted me is because they needed help for that second string to take the load off him."

So one of my favorite Bruins (I am talking not just about Ben Ball) gets to learn from one of my favorite Lakers of all time. DC is fired up to play for Coach Bryon Scott:

Collison, in particular, knew that New Orleans was interested but did not think the Hornets would pick him so high. He enters seemingly perfect circumstances, backing up Chris Paul. There won't be as much pressure to produce while he learns from Coach Byron Scott and one of the best point guards in the game.

"It's a great situation," Collison said. "The draft board went exactly how I wanted it to go."

Coach Howland also made the same points in UCLA's official release:

"Darren is going to be in a great situation in the league, playing for an outstanding coach in Byron Scott and playing behind maybe the best point guard in the NBA," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. "I'm really happy for both these kids and just real excited for them. It's a great situation for Darren."

Great situation indeed. More on DC in the official site which notes DC became the 106th UCLA player to be selected in NBA draft history (UCLA is the all-time collegiate leader in NBA Draft selections, since 1948). UCLA has had at least one player taken in the NBA Draft for the last 13 years (since the 1997 draft), which is the longest streak in the nation.

As for the other player with UCLA affiliation(on paper) in the draft, Jrue Holiday sounded fairly clueless about his new team, the 76ers:

"They're a young team, they definitely get up and down," he said. "It definitely fits my description, an up-and-down point guard who loves to run, loves to pass."

Uhhh. If Jrue had used the Google he would have known that 76ers are actually going to run a Princeton offense this season under Eddie Jordan. If you are an UCLA basketball fan, I don't need to go on and describe how a Princeton "offense" works. It should be burned into your brain for rest of your life. Oh, another note Jrue is going to be playing for a retread NBA basketball coach, who just got fired from the Washington Wizards. Jrue isn't the only one who sounds unprepared and clueless in this situation. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Tonight, Stefanski spoke about Holiday. Reading between the lines, it sounded like Stefanski (76ers Generam Manager Ed Stefanski) didn't think Holiday would come in right away and earn all kinds of playing time, but he did say he was impressed with Holiday's defensive abilities and added that defense might be a way for Holiday to find some playing time.

LOL. I guess Stefanski or his staff didn't do their due diligence and watched the tapes of oh I don't know - the last game that Holiday played in a UCLA uniform right in their backyard? Guess they didn't bother looking up his tapes against A.J. Abrams and James Harden either. Oh they also drafted him without even watching him workout in person:

They took Holiday without watching him workout:

''When (his advisors) thought he'd go in the top 10, he cancelled,'' said Tony DiLeo, the Sixers senior vice-president/assistant general manager. ''We interviewed him in Chicago (at the predraft combine). We studied him. He fits our team.''

LOL at the line of his "advisors" thinking he'd be a top 10 pick. Guess they were the one who told Holiday to spin out of that by saying they were coming in from a perspective where Holiday would be a late first round/early second round pick? Holiday and his new team are already off message and out of sync with each other:

Only minutes after Holiday was selected, assistant GM Tony DiLeo said the Sixers did not expect Holiday to make an impact this coming season. A few minutes later, on a conference call from Madison Square Garden, Holiday said he disagreed with that, saying he expects to contribute right away.

Note the contrast with DC's comments above.

Good luck to him and hope he has "fun" playing infront of the warm and cuddly fans from Philadelphia. I am sure they are going to be very undesrtanding if he lollygags on defense, shies away from pressure and is afraid to step in big games (no doubt the Philly fans will not get tired of the lines about how he was just deferring to his more experienced team-mates when passing up wide open Js he is supposed to make). Whatever.

The most important thing out of last night is once again how it all ended for DC. As for his team-mates - JS and PAA - Coach Howland as always is thinking with optimism:

Howland said he expected both to receive invitations to NBA summer camps.

"Both of those kids will probably end up playing on NBA summer league teams," Howland said. "Both have good situations already on the table from high-level European (teams) if that doesn't work out for them."

I am not too worried about them either. It will work out all right with them and they have that degree to fall back on.

GO BRUINS.

Tuesday Notes: Jeff Teague, Vegas schedule, Ilyasova, Bridgeman honored

Frank Madden — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:58:50 -0000

NBADraft.net: Bucks eyeing Teague? Another day, another guy that the Bucks reportedly are in love with. This time it's Wake Forest's high-flying combo guard Jeff Teague. Charles Gardner reported on May 30 that Teague would work out for the Bucks provided he didn't return to school by the June 15 withdrawal deadline, and the Bucks already saw him at the Minnesota and Golden State workouts last week. It was there that Teague suffered a minor knee injury, so it's unclear if/when he can work out again, but all signs indicate he's staying in the draft at this point.. Aran Smith writes:

We've learned from sources that Milwaukee is extremely high on Jeff Teague and he will likely be one of a small group of players they will decide from at their 10th pick.

Teague's an explosive scorer equally adept at burying threes (44%), exploding to the rack for dunks, or getting to the line. The problem is that he's 6'2", doesn't play like a point guard, and isn't exactly renowned for his defense. So are the Bucks really that interested? I'd guess it's more pre-draft posturing. For one, Teague doesn't seem like the kind of player the Bucks would target given what we know about John Hammond and Scott Skiles. And the Bucks have been linked to just about every other mid-lottery point (Jonny Flynn, Stephen Curry) and big man (DeJuan Blair, Jordan Hill, even B.J. Mullens), so this could be yet another smokescreen aimed at keeping other teams guessing. Ironically, NBADraft.net has the Bucks taking Tyreke Evans in their current mock--no word on if he's even going to work out in Milwaukee, though I can't say I'd complain too much if the Bucks ended up with him.
RU: Vegas Summer League Schedule. Thanks to Scott at Ridiculous Upside for providing the freshly-released Vegas Summer League schedule. The Bucks will play five games between July 10-16 (no specific game times yet):

July 10 vs. Mavs
July 12 vs. Cavs
July 13 vs. Kings
July 15 vs. Bulls
July 16 vs. Raptors

If this schedule is right then the Bucks would be done three days before the VSL closes. I'm hoping to make it out for the first weekend--last year was a very good time and it's always tough to pass up a massive NBA blogger nerdfest. It should also be a good chance to check on the progress of Joe Alexander and Luc Mbah a Moute in addition to seeing Salim Stoudamire and whoever gets drafted.
Ilyasova in Spanish Finals. As noted Sunday, Ersan Ilyasova and Barcelona have advanced to the ACB Finals against rivals TAU Ceramica, beating Jiri Welsch's Unicaja 86-78 in OT. Ilyasova's minutes were again fairly limited as Barca started David Andersen at PF, but it paid off as the more offensively skilled Andersen put up 17 points and eight boards in 32 minutes. Ersan finished with just five points on 2/7 fg and two rebs in 17 minutes, but did manage one highlight reel dunk (h/t Oshmeehan). The best-of-five finals start on Thursday.
DX: Eurocamp report. Head over to DX for Jonathan Givony's latest from Italy. Aside from a reiteration of the DeJuan Blair knee concern we linked the other day, Givony again mentions the possibility of Jordan Hill being available when the Bucks pick. Fine by me.
BUCKS.com: Junior Bridgeman honored by MACC Fund. Congratulations to former Buck Junior Bridgeman for being named the 2009 recipient of the MACC Fund's Don Contardi Commitment Award, presented each year to a person or a company committed to fighting childhood cancer.
Bucks.com: Media game recap. I can only assume that BrewHoop's invitations were lost in the mail.

Proven Winners: DC/JS Updates

Nestor — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:00:20 -0000

Let's start the Monday roundup by checking in with updates on DC and JS in their NBA draft work outs. DC recently sat down with Slam Online and gave his perspective on going through the process. He didn't share anything new but I still like hearing his takes on Ben Ball because he sounds like Coach Howland talking up hoops:

"You learn a lot of things by staying in college for four years," Collison says. "This isn’t to take away anything from these guys who play one or two years, there’s a lot of talent out there, but me being a senior I can tell you there’s so much to learn playing those extra years. Most people aren’t a fan of staying, but if you look at a guy like Brandon Roy, he got the most out of his time at Washington and now he’s succeeding at the next level. You’re ready to come in and play right away as a senior."

Collison also pointed to his tenacious defense as a major add-on to his NBA resume. Long considered one of the better backcourt defenders in the country, the senior has averaged at least 1.6 steals per game for each of the last three seasons. Playing a position where Collison says, "most people don’t play defense," the fact that he has excelled so much on this end of the floor has been a source of intrigue for many NBA teams.

According to Collison, during a recent workout with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a member of the Cavs coaching staff inquired as to which aspect of his game Collison takes more pride in, offense or defense.

"That right there speaks volumes for itself because for another person to see that I’m good on both sides is important," Collison says. "My defensive ability is definitely going to help me in this next process; I think a lot of teams are interested in working me out because of that. Teams want to know how good my defense is and how can it translate to the next level."

DC also talked about having no regrets for coming back for his senior year:

Even though the Bruins fell short in their post season run, Collison is quick to say he has no regrets in deciding to stay for another year. While the elusive national championship stayed as such, the senior said he was able to learn even more about the ability to lead a team and when need be, put it on his shoulders.

"I learned how to be battle tested," he says. "I think it got me ready. I know a lot of people think there are a lot of point guards this year that are ahead of me right now; that’s perfectly fine, but I’m going to play with a chip on my shoulder in order to make me the best I can be for the draft."

I know I am going to sound like a broken record but I will keep repeating every time I share an article on DC. Any team that will be lucky enough to get him in the first round will not only get someone who is going to be a very good player on the court, they are going to get someone who will develop into a great leader both on and off the court.

In addition to DC, JS is also going through his workouts. He recently stopped by in Milwaukee to work out with LRMAM's current team. The Bucks scouting director was impressed. The Journal Sentinel in Milwaukee had this on JS's workout with the Bucks:

Shipp thought he had a good workout.

"It went pretty good," he said. "I did a lot of good things today."

Said Bucks director of scouting Billy McKinney, "I like the fact that he shoots the ball real well and is a good defender. He's a guy that I thought kind of got lost in the UCLA system when you talk about (Jrue) Holiday and (Darren) Collison and other players. (Shipp) is not blessed with tremendous quickness and speed, and that's one thing people will look at why he would slip into the second round or possibly be a free agent. But he can make a team at any level."

JS also talked about having no fear with game on the line:

"[I]'m one of those players, I want the ball at the end of the game. I'm going to take the tough shot. I practice trick shots all the time. It was even better because it was for the game, but I have fun doing that."

JS made that comment when he was asked about this shot:

UCLA Basketball Josh Shipp Game Winning Shot against Cal (via uclafan11)

Looks good every time I watch it.

Sure hope JS ends up someone in the second round if not gets signed by a great team. As McKinney said he might not be blessed with the quickness, speed and the athletic ability of other kids in the draft but you can't question his heart. Just like DC he is a proven Ben Ball warrior.

GO BRUINS.

BN Roundup: DC's Greatness, Spoiled Brats & UCLA Graduation Notes

Nestor — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:47:24 -0000

It's Friday. One more week down till the start of the football season. I actually have a lot of UCLA related news/notes to pass on before starting the weekend. I will start once again with DC who continues to show all other college student athletes how to talk up their respective alma maters. From a recent Q&A DC did with the Sporting News here is what he said in response to a question asking him why he kept returning to Howlandwood:

Every year, I had the opportunity not to go back. But I was addicted to winning more than the fame or the NBA lifestyle. We went to the Final Four three out of the last four years. I loved that. No one can take that from me, no matter what happens in the NBA. I would not trade that memory for anything. So, every time the temptation to go to the NBA came up, I thought that maybe we’d get back to the Final Four, and that was it. That was what I wanted.

And once again DC couldn't stop talking about his ex-teammates in the NBA:

I talk to Kevin (Love) and Russ (Westbrook) all the time, and Luc (Mbah a Moute), too. They give me advice, tell me what it’s like as far as this process. Especially Luc. I talk to Luc a lot. But all of those guys are doing really well at the next level. I think a lot of teams didn’t think they’d be as good as they were. But Russell, he’s been great. Kevin Love is going to be one of the top players at his position, and Luc, he was actually starting in Milwaukee.

I don't know if the contrast with a certain other "UCLA" guard in also partaking in the NBA draft could be more clear I know if I were doing the job interview (and I interview lot of kids) I know who I would go with if I had to make a decision which player is going to be the best fit chemistry wise for the entire team and would remain loyal till the very end.

Anyway, let's move on to the next topic. It's not a secret that Chris Forcier has been looking to transfer this off season. FWIW he made it official yesterday by sending a very unique press release (with a set of "Facts") to Brian Dohn. Here are some of those "Facts" in Dohn's blog:

Fact: New QB Coach Norm Chow and New Head Coach Rick Neuheisel have brought in and played since day (1) their own guys (Quarterbacks)
i.e. Kevin Craft.

Fact: In late February New QB Coach Norm Chow told me that the younger guys would get most of the QB reps in Spring Ball.

Fact: This is a pattern nationally. When New Coaches come in, they recruit their own guys, especially at the quarterback position. It's just like the corporate world, New Owners bring in New Management. With that being said, I do not fault them.

Fact: In early March 2009, after seeing the writing on the wall, I reluctantly requested a meeting with Coach Neuheisel. In our meeting, I respectfully requested a "Permission to Contact Letter" NCCA bylaws 13.1.1.3 Personal request attached, not to be confused with a 'Release" as it was inaccurately reported by Brian Dohn of Inside UCLA, the Bruin Report and a few others.

Fact: My heart is at the Quarterback position. I have several solid options around the country to play. My quandary is and always has been that I also love UCLA.

Well it turns out that one of thos "solid options" turn out to be Furman University in South Carolina. That is where Forcier will be starting next season. Forcier did include the following in his press release:

Fact: I'm a life long UCLA Fan. I love UCLA Football. Most Bruin fans have been very supportive/good people.

Again, I wish the kid luck. I will be rooting for him. However, everyone needs to recognize what happened with Forcier is nothing unique. We have all seen this before. Folks can just google names like Ryan Fien. To his credit Forcier although is leaving with a unique press release, is leaving with lot more class than a spoiled brat like Brett Johnson.

Speaking of posterboy of spoiled brats, apparently Matt Leinart was hanging around UCLA:

Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart sought help from an unlikely source in an even more unlikely place this off-season.

The Southern California graduate worked out a few times with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady at UCLA. The location made sense because Brady has a home near the campus, and Norm Chow, the former offensive coordinator at USC, is now an assistant at UCLA.
Leinart said he also knows UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, but just being with Brady was like hanging out with Ferris Bueller.

"I figured if I'm running with him (Brady), he can do whatever," Leinart said, laughing. "It was funny, we were out there one day, just me and him, and their whole team comes out. They were in off-season conditioning.

"I almost wanted to wear my 'SC jacket, but that would have been real disrespectful."

Matty is so smart. Isn't he? Part of me really wants him to end up with the Pats so that he gets to go through the microscope of the Boston sports scene (which has its own impression of Pom Pom's ability as a "head football coach" when he has to operate within a level playing field).

Lastly, we will end with a graduation note. Apparently UCLA's graduation speaker James Franco has pulled out. From NewsBriefs.com:

A minor campus controversy ensued several months ago when Franco—who earned an English degree from UCLA in 2008—was announced as a keynoter. An editorial in the student newspaper, The Daily Bruin, questioned the decision ("...we don’t feel he is as esteemed as a commencement speaker of UCLA’s caliber should be"), while a student created a Facebook page in protest, calling him an "average student." The university is currently seeking an alternate speaker.

The Daily Bruin had a problem with James Franco? Really? The same paper that had no problem licking Karl Dorrell and Steve Lavin boots (just go through BN archives) was expressing reservation about someone like Franco who has proven to be successful as a professional. Nice work there geniuses.

FWIW a group of UCLA students have already launched a grassroots campaign to get Conan O'Brien for UCLA graduation: Here are their five reasons posted in a facebook group with already over 1,000 members:

1. He is ridiculously smart graduating magna cum laude from Harvard.
2.Very funny having been president of National Lampoon and a writer for the Simpsons, back when it was funny.
3. He lives right there in Brentwood.
4. What better way to welcome the latest host of The Tonight Show than to have him speak for the greatest school in Los Angeles.
5. He is a real person and has worked his way up, not taking the usual path expected.

Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. Plus Conan can get plenty of materials from Bruin Nation to make fun of those clowns across town. Forget a speech, he has enough content to do a whole show on it.

GO BRUINS.

Bucks Team 2000s: First Round vs Second Round

Alex Boeder — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:17:10 -0000

While you are voting for your preferred #10, don't forget about #41: An unusual bit of draft history has seen the Bucks score about as often in the second round as the in first since the turn of this century. Which got me hypothetical-ing...

Probable starters:
	vs
BrewHoop Court
T.J. Ford (2003: 1.8)	PG	Ramon Sessions (2007: 2.26)
Joe Alexander (2008: 1.8)	SG	Michael Redd (2000: 2.14)
Yi Jianlian (2007: 1.6)	SF	Luc Mbah a Moute (2008: 2.7)
Marcus Haislip (2002: 1.13)	PF	Ersan Ilyasova (2006: 2.6)
Andrew Bogut (2005: 1.1)	C	Dan Gadzuric (2002: 2.5)

You can choose from a few more solid second rounders, including Keith Bogans (2003: 2.14), Flip Murray (2002: 2.13), and Jason Hart (2000: 2.20) And of course this doesn't include Mo Williams (2003: 2.18), whom the Bucks grabbed after a short first season in Utah.

The only other first round option is Jason Collier (2000: 1.15). This is considering only players the Bucks actually picked, but if we went back a couple more years, the first rounders would have Dirk Nowitzki (1998: 1.9) while Rafer Alston (1998: 2.10) would become a second round possibility. Alas, this post-1900's only.

Poll

5 on 5, pick your victor.

2000s First Round Bucks

55 votes

2000s Second Round Bucks

345 votes

400 votes | Poll has closed

34 Numbers

Alex Boeder — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:58:24 -0000

More photos » by Michael Perez - AP

Ramon Sessions and Andre Miller both have more career blocks than three-pointers.

Browse more photos »

One for each win of the season...Yes, a new Brew Hoop tradition.

0. Keith Bogans had a +/- differential of 0 this season.

3. Malik Allen blocked three shots combined in December, January, and February. Allen also blocked three shots combined in the final two games of the regular season combined.

56. The Bucks didn't have a player rank in the top 50 in blocked shots. Charlie Villanueva tied for 66th in the NBA with 56 blocks.

43.3 %. The Bucks had a better record against the West (13-17 or 43.3 %) than against the East (21-31 or 40.3 %).

27-59. Richard Jefferson made 27-59 three-pointers from the left corner and 27-59 three-pointers from the right corner according to his hotspot chart. I just re-checked this again.

15,389. The Bradley Center averaged 15,389 paying patrons for 41 home games. That number ranked 24th in the NBA. The average attendance dropped a rather modest 206 fans from last season.

+0.6. Those Scott Skiles' halftime speeches may have worked a bit, as Milwaukee averaged a team-best +0.6 differential in the third quarter. That was the only quarter they usually (55 %) won.

54.4 %. Dan Gadzuric shot a career high 54.4 % from the free throw line.

8. The Bucks went 8-6 in December, the only month they posted a winning record.

41. Richard Jefferson led the Bucks with 41 and-ones. Ramon Sessions and Charlie Villanueva tied for second place on the club with 26 each.

-1.65. Malik Allen produced -1.65 win shares, ranking him among the bottom 10 % in the NBA. Not everyone buys into win shares, but there is plenty of additional evidence for the skeptics that Allen was unbelievably unproductive: He also netted an epically bad -9.1 Roland Rating and Malik-Allen-career-worst 7.33 PER. Unfortunately, none of this even registers on the surprise scale.

999. The Bucks committed 999 shooting fouls.

24.1. Charlie Villanueva averaged 24.1 points / 40 minutes, topping the team. Redd (23.2), Jefferson (21.3), Sessions (18.0), and Bogut (15.0) round out the top five.

7.1. Though his production waned as the game progressed, Michael Redd was a first quarter firecracker, averaging 7.1 points in the opening period, the sixth highest rate in the NBA.

51. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute finished second on the Bucks with 51 games started. A rather incredible feat for the Principal, who managed to work his way into the starting lineup within two weeks of Opening Night. The Cameroonian's first start came in an 82-78 triumph over San Antonio on November 12. Richard Jefferson easily led Milwaukee with 81 games started.

19. After entering the season inactive, Ramon Sessions finished by leading Milwaukee in assists for the final 19 games, dating from March 4 to April 15.

5. Andrew Bogut was only eighth in minutes played (422) on the Bucks, but he led the team in technicals, with 5. Sessions, Redd, Ridnour, and Mbah a Moute played more minutes than Bogut but none were hit with a single technical.

26.0. Charlie Villanueva's usage rate, ranking 14th in the NBA.

56.3 %. Milwaukee made 56.3 % of its inside shots, ranking 29th out of 30 teams. The Bobcats (55.8 %) were slightly worse in this regard.

+2.4. Milwaukee ranked second in the NBA in turnover differential per game (+2.4).

16. The Bucks used 16 different starting lineups. How many can you name?

8. Point guards Ramon Sessions and Luke Ridnour committed eight offensive fouls each. In considerably fewer minutes, Joe Alexander committed seven offensive fouls.

844. Though he fell far below the league leaders, Richard Jefferson nonetheless won first place honors on the Bucks with 51 dunks. That placed him merely a few dunks ahead of Charlie Villanueva, who threw down 48 times. Then again, RJ eked out the extra dunks in large part thanks to playing 844 more minutes than CV.

105.6. Milwaukee averaged 105.6 points in its 34 wins, compared to a 94.8 average in 48 losses.

7-6. Ramon Sessions blocked more shots (7) than he made three-pointers (6) in 2008-09. The point guard had three of each in his rookie campaign. I noted in the photo caption that Sessions (10-9) and Andre Miller (178-118) both have more career blocks than three-pointers made. Don't leave them alone outside though; Sessions already has one memorable buzzer-beating, game-winning three to his credit, and Andre Miller made 2-2 from outside including a crushing three late to beat the Bucks in January.

1. Charlie Bell dunked once this year. Others with exactly one regular season dunk include Dikembe Mutombo, T.J. Ford, Devin Harris, Jake Voskuhl, and Adam Morrison.

38. Milwaukee's Pythagorean record was 38-44.

2.97. Ramon Sessions finished ninth in the NBA with a 2.97 assist/turnover ratio.

4. The Bucks went undefeated against four teams: Oklahoma City (2-0), Sacramento (2-0), San Antonio (2-0), and Washington (3-0).

86 %. Andrew Bogut attempted 86 % of his shots inside. That percentage ranked sixth highest in the NBA. To put that in perspective, Shaquille O'Neal (71 %) and Dan Gadzuric (52 %) both shot a much lower percentage from inside. There is a good reason for Bogut's shyness to shoot from anywhere else, and it's a bit worrying: Bogut made just 27.9 % of his jumpers.

3.3. Charlie Villanueva hoisted a career-high 3.3 three-pointers per game, and he made a career-best 34.5 % from outside.

87.7. Reserves played 87.7 minutes per game for Milwaukee, the sixth highest total in the NBA.

19.4. Andrew Bogut boasted a 19.4 rebound rate, the ninth highest in the NBA.

2. Charlie Bell posted a double-double on March 26, 2006 and then a triple-double the very next game on March 28, 2006. Those are Bell's only two career double-doubles; he just happened to string them together twice in a row. This season was the third in a row Bell did not have a double-double.