Basketball season in Milwaukee officially comes to a close

Basketball season in Milwaukee officially came to a close last night as the Bucks lost in Boston, 87-74. Yep. 74. Now that's the way to finish the season, with 74 points. Can the players scream, "we want the pain of this season to end" any louder? It wasn't all bad though, the Bucks held the Celtics to 27 points in the second half. That is some serious D, and the way Scott Skiles likes his teams to play, but even that kind of D won't help when you give up 39 in the second quarter. With Ellis, Gooden and Ilyasova on the bench, I guess the outcome was expected. The lone bright spot of the night was Jon Leuer getting back onto the floor and putting up 15 points and 8 rebounds. BrewHoop says Good Riddance to the 2012 season.

So what's next for the Bucks? Do they get rid of Skiles? Hammond? Both? Neither? I like Scott Skiles, I really do. Not many coaches in the NBA these days are willing to stand up to players the way he does, but after seeing the poll a few weeks ago where players around the NBA said he wasn't a coach they would want to play for, I say it is time for a change. On the other hand, I think it would be a mistake to get rid of John Hammond. This guy pulled the Bucks out of bad contract hell, and has built a pretty solid team. He couldn't help it that Andrew Bogut was never healthy, he has made moves the Bucks needed to make. Oh,

In other NBA news - local product Steve Novak from Brown Deer High School and Marquette University finished the season in the #1 spot for 3 pointers made with 133, and 3 point percentage at .472. The .472 is good for the 4th best season by any player ever! After bouncing from team to team in the NBA over the last five years, Novak will certainly cash in this off season, just a question of where he will land. New York? Knicks fans love him, but don't think the team can afford him. Did you ever think you would hear anyone say that about the Brown Deer Bomber? I didn't. Novak actually made Packers' QB Aaron Rodgers' belt move famous in new York this year and the Knicks are selling the t-shirts to the right back it up. This video of "Novakaine" has already hit 50,000 views.....


Here is how the local guys finished up this year.....



4,953 points scored and 1,810 rebounds in the NBA by local players this year - now that's impressive!


On the recruiting trail Marquette's Buzz Williams is continuing to look at potential transfers, which suggests that Aaron Durley may not be the only player that won't be on MU's roster next year. At this point potential transfers considering Marquette include Arizona State's Trent Lockett and Tulsa's Eric McClellan. Drake transfer Rayvonte Rice was considering Marquette, but opted for Illinois. 2012 Mislav Brzoja from Croatia(ppv) via Indiana also plans to visit MU. All four of those players are guards, and with Junior Cadougan, Vander Blue, Jake Thomas, Todd Mayo and Jamail Jones expected to return, and TJ Taylor coming in, you have to wonder if Buzz Williams is either not comfortable with only six guards on the roster or if there are more departures coming. I think both.

Director of Basketball Operations Bart Lundy will be joining Tony Benford at North Texas. Another loss for MU, but a great opportunity for Lundy, a great coach and a really good guy.


The Milwaukee Panthers picked up former Racine St. Catherine's point guard Steve McWhorter. McWhorter was at Indiana State the last two years and with his transfer to UWM, McWhorter will have to sit out a year.

So, with Rick Costello out, what is next for the Milwaukee Athletic program? Jimmy Lemke breaks it down with a "Timeline of Turmoil".


More moves by the WIAA. This week the WIAA decided to move the girls state tournament to Green Bay, but cut a deal to keep the boys tourney in Madison. This is a bad move in my mind, and the reason is this.... they will have the season start earlier, meaning the season will start two weeks before the football season ends. I will go off on this more at a later time, but what if you are a football player that is borderline on whether or not you will make the basketball team. What chance do you think you have to make the team if you miss the first two weeks? tryouts and cuts are usually made within the first two weeks, so those kids now have little to no shot. Sure sounds like the WIAA is thinking like the NCAA, Once again, putting the money and power ahead of what is good for the student athlete.

Bradley Tech girls coach Alina Cunninham will be staying on for another year, but told Troy Sparks that this may be her last.


The NFL Draft is underway and the Green Bay Packers selected USC outside linebacker Nick Perry. This is a solid pick for the Packers, as the defense needs help in a few areas. Will Perry be an outside linebacker opposite Clay Matthews? Or, at 271 lbs, will Perry play more of a defensive end type role for the Pack? If Dom Capers can get him to play up and back like he does with Matthews, it shouldn't matter, as long as Perry can cover the flats on pass plays.

Personally I thought the Packers should have taken Wisconsin C Peter Konz. Jeff Saturday will likely only be in Green Bay for two years, and Konz could be a 10 year NFL player. I would expect the Packers to stay on the defensive side of the ball on day 2.

How about the draft performance by brand new first year agent Joe Panos? Panos had three players selected in the first round. Dont'a Hightower of Alabama who went to New England at #25, the Bengals picked up Wisconsin's Kevin Zeitler at #27 and Nick Perry of USC went to the Packers at #28.

While on the subject of the NFL draft, I have to say I do not like the three day draft. I used to gather with my dad, brothers and some friends every year on draft day. We would spend the whole day making predictions, wagering on different picks - it was always a great time, especially when in Madison Square Garden for it. Now it is three days? I can't spend three days on the draft. I will applaud the NFL on how quickly the first round went last night, much better than the old 15 minutes picks. Do you realize that when the NFL expanded the first round slots from 12 minutes to 15 minutes, AND expanded by two teams, they expanded the first round by two full hours in one year? Dumb.


Video of the Day..... I have to give a shoutout to JB and Ryan from MidwestBallers.com. Here are the highlights from the Maximum Exposure Invitational. great stuff, and always good to see talented local kids on the court.



Photo of the Day..... Good to see former MU player Dominic James is still living in the upper stratosphere, his knees are above the rim!


Ok, I can't have both the video and photo be serious, so here is someone making fantastic use of a binder clip......


Have a great weekend!