Nestled close to the radio in the 50 degree temperature of a Door County evening, I pumped my fist instinctively when it was announced the Milwaukee Bucks selected Jon Leuer with the 40th overall pick in the NBA draft.
Camping in Fish Creek, Wis. last week with limited access to Wi-Fi and inconsistent cell coverage, I was almost completely cut off from the rumors swirling around the draft. I knew the Bucks worked out Leuer, but that was the extent of my knowledge.
As a University of Wisconsin-Madison alumnus, I was on the fence about Leuer as a Buck going into the draft. I was a sophomore when he was just a skinny freshman with a disproportionately small head. I remember sitting in U.S. history during the first week of classes and predicting the stick figure that just sat down behind me would not have much of a career as a Badger.
While he remains thin and his head is still too small for his body, Leuer certainly proved me wrong.
The Milwaukee Bucks may be Wisconsin’s pro basketball team, but it is far from being the premiere basketball program within the state. That honor would go to the Wisconsin Badgers men’s team (*ducks away from Marquette fans*). And the Bucks just drafted its favorite son, Jon Leuer.
With the 40th pick of the draft, the Bucks selected the Wisconsin forward. This should come as no surprise. During Leuer’s Tuesday workout with Bucks first round draft pick Tobias Harris and other prospects, Bucks Director of Scouting Billy McKinney said of Leuer, “If he’s at 40, I think it’s kind of a no-brainer for us.”
Coach Scott Skiles also liked Leuer’s workout, “”One of the things Jon said, and it’s so true, is he’s more athletic than you think, and it comes across when you watch him play in a college game, but also the athletic testing in Chicago and then when you get him in a workout, he moves around really well.”
Remember when we were all so certain about who the Milwaukee Bucks would draft on Thursday? No, we didn’t have it down exactly, but there were three or four names we felt good about. Even after they moved down, there was still two or three guys we figured were a lock. The scuttlebutt had been out on Marcus Morris and Marshon Brooks for some time. We knew one of those two, or somebody like them would be available and would be the pick. It’s 2011, the Twitter Age. We have rock solid information about everything seconds after and often way before it happens.
Boy, were we wrong. Tobias Harris snuck in the back door on a big Bucks news day. He wasn’t a flashy selection that Bucks fans could ooh and aww over. His game isn’t athletic like Alec Burks, he isn’t a scorer like Brooks or powerful like Morris. And he doesn’t have that beautiful three-point shot that Klay Thompson has. He’s one of the few prospects that hasn’t really been connected with the Bucks at all of late, probably because he’s one of the few prospects in this draft that isn’t much of a one-skill guy.
You don’t look at Tobias Harris footage and take away that one NBA skill he has from it. But, fortunately, it’s tough to watch that footage and feel like the wool has been pulled over the eyes of the Bucks either.
The Milwaukee Bucks selected Wisconsin Badger forward Jon Leuer with the 40th selection in the 2011 NBA draft Thursday evening. The 6-foot-11, 228 pound Leuer worked out with first round pick Tobias Harris on Tuesday.
Leuer led the Badgers with 18.3 points and 7.2 rebounds during his senior season en route to a First-Team All-Big Ten selection. He was an honorable mention AP All-American selection. His 621 points ranked as the third-highest single-season total in Badger history.
Leuer’s draft stock appeared to be in question before the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, but he tested better than most expected athletically. Those skills combine with his accomplished college portfolio thrust him into late first round consideration before he eventually landed with Milwaukee.
Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
You see what I did there? Tobias Harris was hilarious on Arrested Development.
Huh?
At the Milwaukee Bucks media gathering, there were a number of surprised faces when it was announced that Tobias Harris, a forward out of Tennessee, was the Bucks selection with the 19th overall pick. He was apart of the Bucks last workout group on Tuesday and apparently flew so under the radar, that nary a reporter spoke with him. In the year 2011 this happened.
Safe to say no one saw this coming.
But Harris was the pick. The 6-foot-8, 226 pound little power forward, big small forward left Tennessee after a brief, yet productive, stay. Harris was second on the Volunteers in scoring and led the team in rebounding last season, averaging 15.3 points and 7.2 rebounds.
More on this after we get the chance here at the Cousins Center to meet with John Hammond.
Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter.
