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.

After getting limited minutes as a freshman, Leuer made significant contributions as a sophomore before becoming a key player his last two years at Wisconsin.

It did not take Leuer long to show me I was significantly undervaluing him. The first sign my prediction would be incorrect arrived in the first game of the 2007-08 Big Ten season. I remember watching Leuer go 5-for-5 from behind the arc against Michigan and immediately thinking the Badgers could have another Mike Wilkinson on their hands.

For you Bucks fans who do not follow the Badgers, Wilkinson was a 6-foot-8-inch former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball who had a solid four-year career in Madison after redshirting as a freshman. He provided a nice complement to Devin Harris and could play both inside the paint and beyond the 3-pt line.

As I watched Leuer explode at Michigan, I looked at him as a player who, like Wilkinson, would be a nice complement to a star guard like Harris. After showing steady improvement as a sophomore, Leuer went on to exceed my expectations as a junior.

To me, Leuer became the best player on the Badgers in his third year. He would often set up beyond the arc and use his quickness to take bigger players off the dribble. Leuer did miss a good chunk of the Big Ten season that year with a wrist injury, but he returned and put up nice numbers in postseason play.

With the departures of Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon, it appeared Leuer was poised to be the unquestioned leader of the 2010-11 Wisconsin Badgers. While Jordan Taylor emerged and stole some of his thunder, Leuer still had a successful senior year. Like Wilkinson and Harris, Taylor and Leuer formed a lethal combination and carried the Badgers in most games.

Watching Leuer for four years, I had little doubt he could play in the NBA. After all, bigger guys with 3-pt range seem to find a role in the league despite other shortcomings…Brian Scalabrine anyone? Despite that, I had a hard time understanding how Leuer would be able to guard professional power forwards.

As my initial excitement over the Bucks landing a Badger dissipated, those same questions once again lingered. At only 220 pounds, I cannot see Leuer standing much of a chance against any power forward with a back to the basket game.

While I will cheer for him relentlessly, Leuer looks like a situational, end of the bench guy to me. Just remember, he proved me wrong once before. As a Bucks fan, I hope he can do it again.

Josh Hilgendorf is a contributor to the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook (right sidebar).

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With the 40^th 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.”

If Leuer makes the roster he will be an immediate fan favorite for a franchise that always struggles to put people in the seats. He’s not only a recognizable face to many Wisconsin residents, but one they already have seen succeed. But Leuer has an even steeper uphill battle than former bucks second round picks. Summer League has been cancelled due to the impending lockout. Without Summer League, Leuer will have limited opportunities to impress the coaches. Though the talent isn’t overwhelming at power forward, it is a well-stocked position for the Bucks, especially if Harris were to emerge as a capable stretch 4 when the Bucks go small.

His fate may be tied somewhat to Ersan Ilyasova. The Turkish forward has been rumored to be interested in parting ways with the Bucks, possibly for Europe. Milwaukee was said to be in talks about moving Ilyasova for a first round pick on draft day, but nothing came of that. Ilyasvoa has filled the Bucks stretch four role for the past two seasons, while contributing as a high energy defender and rebounder as well. Leuer’s strengths are very similar.

Fortunately for Leuer, the Bucks already run a play that’s tailor-made for him. They run a high screen where the screener spots up immediately after the pick is cleared. The screener was left open more often than not because the screener was a Bucks player and thus a bad shooter. Leuer can hit that shot. He has one of the most polished offensive skill sets out of any collegiate that went into the draft.

In addition to his floor stretching abilities, he has a vast arsenal of post moves. Leuer does have his deficiencies. His defense is suspect against other big men (it was well hidden by the Badgers system, so his defense isn’t that big of a deal since he’s going to an elite defensive team as long as his effort is there). His rebounding is poor. He needs to get a lot stronger otherwise he’ll rarely get position in the block and will just get throttled in the NBA in much the same way that Matt Howard manhandled him in the Sweet Sixteen.

Expecting Leuer to come in and contribute heavy, or even moderate, minutes right away is probably a bit of a stretch. But if Jon Brockman was able to carve out a role on last season’s Bucks, is it really that far-fetched to think Leuer may be able to scrape some minutes together if he makes the roster?

Ian Segovia is a contributor to the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter.

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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.

They may have a player on their hands.

Harris may only be 18 (soon to be 19), but from the looks of it, he’s more polished than the Bucks first round pick last year Larry Sanders. That’s the advantage of drafting a former McDonald’s All-American, ranked as high as number six in his class prior to college. And the Bucks took notice of his polish in both his play on the court and the way he handles himself off of it.

“We’re thrilled to be able to pick Tobias Harris,” John Hammond said after the draft. ”He’s an amazing guy. And young guys like that, if they can ever find their way to the floor at that age the improvement they can make is so rapid. It’s not easy to improve if you’re not playing, and you know Scott (Skiles), he’ll have to earn that, but if he can do that, his upside is just tremendous.”

It’s the package of age, versatility and work ethic that have the Bucks very excited about the team’s first round pick. Milwaukee envisions him primarily as a three, but knows he has the capabilities to move down to the block here and there if need be. The dreaded tweener tag has been the word bandied about at the start of many ill-fated careers before and we’re all too familiar with it in Milwaukee after the Joe Alexander experience. But Harris’s apparent comfortability with the game looks to be a huge advantage. It’s one thing to be an athlete than can play basketball. It’s another to be a basketball player. And Coach Skiles heaped some unusually lavish (for him) praise on the youngster’s motivation.

“He’s got a chance to be really versatile,” Skiles said. “I know it’s early, but you feel just by looking at him and watching him, whatever his ceiling is going to be, he’s going to reach it. He’s a very high motivated kid.”

Only one other time have I heard Coach Skiles use a phrase similar to that one regarding Harris’s ceiling: During the 2009-10 Media Day when speaking about Luc Mbah a Moute, a famously hard worker.

Harris will have to translate from largely playing inside in college to what will likely be a more perimeter oriented role in the NBA, but he knows a thing or two about playing on the outside. His polish must come from somewhere, right? Growing up with an NBA agent father, Harris had the pleasure of working out with NBA great George Gervin as a youngster. That sort of training and a professionalism he exhibited even when things were rocky at Tennessee is part of what has the Bucks so excited about him.

“He’s got a lot of things you can get excited about and work with,” Skiles said. “You don’t know how quickly somebody like that’s going to come along. Sometimes guys surprise you, sometimes it’s a little bit longer, who knows. But we believe he’s got a really exciting upside.”

Last season, a fairly raw Sanders played roughly 15 minutes per game in 61 appearances. Sanders battled himself as often as he battled his opponent as he did his best to break some of his old habits and learn his place on the court. The talented and ground-bound Harris should be able to pick things up a little quicker than his predecessor in the first round. So perhaps we didn’t know who Tobias Harris was, but even at the tender age of 19, he might make himself known in Milwaukee sooner rather than later.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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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.

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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.

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Draft day begins with a bang for Milwaukee Bucks fans. All week we heard the Bucks were itching to make a move, but not necessarily just dump salary. So that’s how we got here. Milwaukee is bringing in the talented, but volatile, Stephen Jackson along with Shaun Livingston and Beno Udrih and the number 19 pick in today’s draft. Out the door head Corey Maggette and John Salmons (much to the delight of Bucks fans I’m sure).

The salary info:

Over the length of all of the deals involved, the Bucks will save $8,238,357 and the difference between the salaries of the 19 and 10 picks.

But this isn’t just a salary dump.

The Bucks appear to thrive with guards and forwards capable of handling the ball and making plays for others. Once upon a time, that’s how Salmons endeared himself so much to the franchise. After coming over from the Bulls, he drove and kicked right into the hearts and minds of Bucks fans. Not last year though. Last year he was more than a step slow and lacked any explosion whatsoever. A younger, cheaper Beno Udrih will attempt to slide into a fraction of that role he once played so well.

Udrih can spend time splitting between the one and the two — he’s a scoring point that should be able to move over in Milwaukee’s system, so long as he can keep his head above water defensively.

Livingston is, was and always will be as pure of a point guard as a point guard can be. His passing instincts are exceptional and his height gives him the ability to read defense like a quarterback. His length can help him with some point guards defensively, but his size can be exploited by the smaller quicker variety of point guard (think JJ Barea).

Milwaukee’s true success in this deal (unless you count escaping from the burdensome contract of Salmons as its true success), was swapping out Maggette for Stephen Jackson.

Yes, he’s crazy and yes, he was ejected within minutes of his last appearance at the Bradley Center, but Jackson can play ball. More importantly, he’s a much better fit on the court than the single-minded Maggette. Despite his reputation as a shoot first, last and always player, Jackson is actually a fairly accomplished passer. Last season he assisted on 18.4% of his possession, a monstrous number when compared to the 11.3% Maggette posted. He’s better in terms of creation of offense for the entire team and creating offense was a huge flaw for last season’s Bucks.

For now, this doesn’t appear much of a failure or success for the Bucks. They’ve acquired a couple players who seem like they may be better fits than the players they disposed of. Whether or not that will pan out, we’ll know when the ball drops next season. Milwaukee without question is saving some cash and appears to have improved on a personnel front. Whether the savings and the “right now” improvements will balance out moving down from 10 to 19 we won’t know for quite some time.

So now appears to be time to wait and see. It’s all we can do.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter.

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Chad Ford with the apparently final information on a crazy deal:

Bucks get Beno, Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston & 19. Bobcats get pick 7 & Maggette. Kings get 10 & John Salmons.

Whoa … again.

***

Minutes after Gery Woelfel’s tweet on the Bucks and the Kings, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! tweeted the Bobcats would be involved in a three way deal. He’s now updated involving players:

Partial of deal: The Bucks get Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston, sources say. Charlotte gets the 7th pick and Corey Maggette.

Whoa.

***

First the Observer, and then this. Gery Woelfel has Tweeted a rather big piece of news:

Bucks appear to have deal with Sacamento for No. 7

No word yet on who is involved or the specifics.

***

Here’s an old one (and by old, I mean I added this and started this page roughly two minutes ago and it’s already irrelevant). This one’s from the Charlotte Observer:

There are definitely serious talks going on between the Charlotte Bobcats and Milwaukee Bucks. Don’t know all the particulars yet, but it sounds like the Bobcats could end with the 10th pick and maybe send No. 19 to Milwaukee.

The article goes on to mention the similarities in the contracts of Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson. Do with that what you will.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter.

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Organizations spend thousands of hours scouting, interviewing and preparing for all possibilities. But as a blogger, I don’t have that sort of time. I’m doing my best to keep an eye on things, but I’m not planning for every scenario possible. I don’t research each and every prospect the way I’m sure many do. I haven’t seen grainy video footage of Bismack Biyombo working out in a YMCA in the Senegal. I can’t tell you off the top of my head Alec Burks’s vertical leap. Some things get through the cracks.

That’s why when a reporter friend of mine asked me yesterday to compare Jonas Valanciunas to a current player, I couldn’t offer him an answer. I had to be honest: I had no idea. I never thought a guy who seemed to be a sought after prospect could possibly fall into the Bucks hands in this particular draft.

That’s the thing about European players though. Buyouts can be tricky and things can change awfully quick.

Here we are a day from the draft and Valanciunas went from almost a sure fire bet to go number four, to possibly one of the Bucks main targets at number ten thanks to a buyout that likely will keep him away from the NBA for at least a season. The buzz about Valanciunas and the Bucks has gotten gotten considerably louder over the past day.

DX reported there was a potential deal between Milwaukee and Houston on the horizon if Valanciunas isn’t available at ten. On the BS Report, Chad Ford mentioned John Hammond’s job security as a logical reason as to why Milwaukee may be willing to wait a year on the Euro big man. Adrian Wojnarowski is the latest to pair the Lithuanian and Milwaukee.

But who is this tantalizing prospect potentially falling into the awaiting arms of Bucks fans?

DX is the leader in Valanciunas information. They have a number of interviews with him and a great run down of what he does well and where he needs some work. Where he really thrives, is around the hoop. He doesn’t appear to have much of a post up game, but when he gets the ball near the rim, much more often than not, its going in. That sounds like a fairly simple task for big men, but Milwaukee has struggled mightily to finish around the rim over the past two seasons.

Nearly 82.2% of Valanciunas’s shots come around the basket in finishing situations, the most among all the big men in our sample, and he made 68% of those attempts last season (5th).

Don’t expect him to step out much though. Similarly to Andrew Bogut, Valanciunas doesn’t operate much outside the paint. According to DX, he took just eight jump shots last season, converting on five. But he does show promise with his touch: He connected on better than 90% of his free throws (23 out of 24 (I assume, DX doesn’t have anything other than per game and percentage numbers)).

His 7-foot-4 wingspan certainly can’t hurt him in the eyes of the Milwaukee front office. The Bucks have been looking to add length and athleticism for two years and if he arrives a more polished prospect, it sounds tantalizing to pair him with equally long Larry Sanders in a defensive front court that could cause nightmares for penetrating guards looking to finish.

The knocks on him are a lack of experience (he’s 19) and less than ideal feel for the game. He picks up those silly fouls energy guys who are a bit too aggressive often do and his fouls are amplified by his lack of feel. Those are wrinkles that hopefully can be ironed out in time.

When watching highlight tapes of him, it’s encouraging to see how fluid he is in his movements and how aggressive he is in planting himself near the rim, ready for rebounds and awaiting dunk opportunities. There’s something to be said for playing to your strengths.

When looking at his game and putting into a frame of reference that I can understand, I think of Dan Gadzuric. Then I add more coordination and a free throw stroke. Gadz flashed signs of being a real player from time to time early in his career, if Valanciunas can eclipse that and be consistent about it, I don’t think anyone would have too many complaints.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Then through some connecting of the dots, needs meeting wants and necessity meeting opportunity, Alec Burks emerged as the favorite to land in Milwaukee with the tenth pick.

And now things are back upside down. Rumors have run rampant all week that the Bucks have been one of the most active teams in the league with regards to trying to move down in the draft. Chad Ford has connected them with Burks, Klay Thompson, Bismack Biyombo, Jonas Valanciunas and Tristan Thompson at various times, while Draft Express has had Milwaukee connected with Marcus Morris for about two weeks.

Things seem up in the air.

The most logical explanation? A lack of separation. Burks, K. Thompson, Jordan Hamilton, and Tyler Honeycutt have all worked out for the Bucks as wing prospects. Tuesday, Milwaukee brought in Marshon Brooks and Chris Singleton. They’ve now worked out six legitimate prospects for their first round selection and don’t seem to have their hearts and minds set on any one of them.

Yes, Alec Burks appears to have the lead, but by this time last year, Larry Sanders could have shut things down — he had the Bucks assurance by the time dessert came around when the team took him out to dinner the night of his workout. Burks got the dinner, but not the promise. As workouts have gone on, Milwaukee has seemed more and more inclined to part with its pick, a sure sign that the team feels it can move down and get a player that has as much of a chance to be a success as the player they would be drafting at number ten.

***

A few quick notes:

• DX seems fairly certain that if the Bucks don’t move their pick, they’ll look for some inside help. He has them going with Marcus Morris at ten. I’m inclined to think wing still, but a report has surfaced that Ersan Ilyasova may look to buy his way out of his current deal with the Bucks. Ilyasova was caught in a bit of a time crunch last season with Luc Mbah a Moute and Drew Gooden taking away minutes at the four and his three-point shooting game fell off the map. He seemed to lose confidence and the trust of the coaching staff at times.

• DX also hints that the Bucks may be interested in Valanciunas and that if he isn’t available, Milwaukee will trade down, likely to select one of the many wing options available. The Rockets could be a willing partnet according to his Tweet.

• Chad Ford has the Bucks taking Klay Thompson in his Mock Draft 6.0. It seems Ford is basing this more on his interpertation of who would be more ready to play right away rather than on any concrete information from the Bucks that the like Thompson over Burks.  It should also be noted that in today’s BS Report with Bill Simmons, Ford said he didn’t think Andrew Bogut was available and that Milwaukee is a realistic landing spot for Valanciunas because John Hammond is safe enough to live without him for a season.

Meanwhile, the Bucks brought in another group for workouts today led by the aforementioned Brooks and Singleton.

• Marshon Brooks – Guard/Forward – Providence
• Chris Singleton – Forward – Florida State
• Chandler Parsons – Forward – Florida
• Tobias Harris – Forward – Tennessee
• Jon Leuer - Forwad – Wisconsin
• Josh Selby – Guard – Kansas

-  Leuer, a 6-foot-10 Wisconsin fan favorite, is Ford’s projected second round pick for the Bucks. Incredibly interesting about Leuer is his progression as a free throw shooter over his four years in Madison. Leuer made just 48% of his free throws as a freshman, but ranked third in the Big Ten last season after hitting 84% from the stripe. He’s a strong rebounder as well and tested out better as an athlete than many expected in late Mat at the combine. If Ilyasova were ready to leave, it’s not crazy to think Leuer could fit in as a 15th man type third or fourth power forward.

-  Selby is a combo guard who struggled in his one season at Kansas, but was a very well thought of recruit coming in. He battled some injuries and some playing time issues and surprised many by decalring. But the talent appears to be there. He’s seen as a mid-to-late first round pick.

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There are more than just rambunctious towel-wavers in the second round. Effective big men, sharp shooters, defensive specialists and slashers can all be found late on draft night. If not, then the team can always just draft a great name like Tiny Gallon,  Moochie Norris, Tito Horford or Winston Garland.

He didn't last long on the Bucks, but who could soon forget Tiny Gallon.

Diante Garrett

Quite often the pre-draft process of the combine, measurements and workouts tear down prospects. Guys are found to be smaller than listed in college. They don’t jump quite as high as expected. They’re footwork isn’t as refined as one would like. It’s disheartening to see such productive players from the college or European ranks drop in the draft because of such things. But for every guy sinking during the draft process, there is another player rising. Diante Garrett is such a player.

He flew under the radar of NBA scouts for his four years at Iowa State. Now he has a chance to be taken in the second round of the draft. One look at his measurements tells shows his value. His 6’4” height and 6’8” wingspan are stellar for a point guard. He has the length and speed to be a real asset on the defensive end. He can swallow up point guards with that length. Garrett can also guard shooting guards which can bring real versatility to a lineup.

Offensively, Garrett could be a liability. On a team with some kooky shooting strokes, Garrett’s would be the weirdest and arguably the worst. His whole body twists to the side and he has a slow release. Also, his decision-making is suspect at best. But he’s a sturdy ballhandler that does a good job of getting into the paint. He keeps his turnovers low and Draft Express has his Pure Point Rating at 1.93, good for seventh among all point guards in this draft.

Early in Garrett’s college career, he was asked to be merely a facilitator and ballhandler. When more was asked from him, his scoring average did go up from 11 points per game to 17, but his offensive efficiency took a hit. Being a second round choice, Garrett will immediately go back to a role that he is more comfortable in. On the Bucks, Garrett will work well within a lineup featuring two ballhandlers like coach Scott Skiles often uses. However, it’d be best if he was paired with Brandon Jennings in such a lineup as a Keyon Dooling/Diante Garrett combo would definitely leave the offense floundering.

Trey Thompkins

Stretch fours that are poor shooters aren’t really stretch fours. They’re just tall guys who are bad at basketball. Trey Thompkins was labeled a stretch four early in his college career. It seemed like a well deserved label as he shot 38 percent beyond the three point line and hit 39 percent of all his jumpers in his sophomore year. Somewhere along the line he lost that touch as he only shot 24 percent from three and 23 percent on all jumpers in his last college season.

Loss of that shooting touch is really unexplainable and going into workouts there was hope that teams would see his jumper return. The Bucks didn’t see that shooting form return in their workout of Thompkins. Bucks Director of Scouting Billy McKinney said, “. . . NBA personnel will call him a stretch-four, a guy that can go out on the floor and knock down shots but we see him playing more inside.”

Thompkins’s shooting may not be as good as hoped, but his post game is better than expected. He scored an impressive 1.1 points per possession in post up opportunities. The soft touch that got him labeled a stretch four plays a huge part in his post game. He still relies heavily on turnaround and fadeaway jumper. But that soft touch paired up with his exceptional footwork gives him plenty of potential to improve down low.

Malcolm Lee

When the college basketball historians look through the record books, they’ll wonder why UCLA didn’t win championship after championship from 2006 to 2009. They were consistently loaded with talent that would flourish in the NBA, as we’ve seen in Milwaukee with the aforementioned Mbah a Moute. For the last seven years, every UCLA prospect except for Josh Shipp has found a home in the NBA as either a star or an important role player. But while at Westwood, these players underperformed and it hurt their draft stock. All of them have performed above expectations. This phenomenon has occurred with such consistency that John Hollinger has had to include a UCLA variable in his latest Draft Rater. This is good news for the likes of Tyler Honeycutt and Lee.

Lee wasn’t the first and won’t be the last guard restricted by UCLA coach Ben Howland’s methodical offense. He played both guard positions for the Bruins, but wasn’t particularly productive in either position. Lee has all the size, athleticism and length to be a combo guard. Yet, he hasn’t shown any of the skills that would suggest he could play either. He shines the most in transition where his athleticism and speed can overwhelm opponents. In the half-court, Lee is pretty dismal.

He’s shooting a terrible 17 percent off the dribble, compare that to his 40 percent shooting off the catch and shoot and one sees that his offensive problems are more tied to his decision making than anything else. His reckless attitude extends from his shooting to his slashing. He gets out of control when penetrating and rarely finds teammates. Now re-read that description of Lee again and figure out what former UCLA guard he’s like then you’ll have a good idea of his niche in the NBA.

Norris Cole

Versatility is a big thing in the league right now. That’s why there’s always talk of stretch fours or combo guards. The more a guy can give his team, the better chance he has of staying in the league. But that can lead to a jack of all trades, master of none situation. There’s something to be said about a guy who just does what he does and is good at it. Norris Cole is one of those guys. He’s the complete package at point guard. Cole’s pure point guard rating ranked just ahead of Garrett’s at 2.26.

His game should translate well to the NBA since he does most of his damage off high screens. He’s equally good in transition and the half court. He never puts his head down and always views the whole court, looking for the best shot for his team. Cole faired well in John Hollinger’s statistical analysis of this raft class: His 10.85 rating landed him eighth among wing prospects, ahead of Jimmer Fredette and Brandon Knight.

His shooting isn’t great, but it’s respectable. And that’s really the best way to describe the rest of his game. He has to be very crafty to make up for his average first step. His defense is fundamentally sound, but he’s limited by his athleticism. It’s that limited athleticism that makes people wonder if Cole can really handle the NBA.  Playing in the Horizon league, Cole rarely played against top competition. It’ll be interesting to see if his quickness and strength are up to scratch on the defensive end.

Cole could be the type of player that Skiles loves. He’s shown great work ethic (he works hard on his shot, his 85 percent free throw shooting is proof of that). He’s extremely coachable and is fundamentally sound. Skiles highly values those traits. If Cole finds a way onto the Bucks’ roster, he could get minutes quickly.

Ian Segovia writes for the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter.

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