June 28, 2012; Newark, NJ, USA; John Henson (North Carolina), right, is introduced as the number fourteen overall pick to the Milwaukee Bucks by NBA commissioner David Stern during the 2012 NBA Draft at the Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

The Bucks selected power forward John Henson from the University of North Carolina with the #14 pick in the NBA draft.

With a whole slate of choices available from among the candidates who have been at the Cousins Center over the past two weeks: Terrence Jones, Perry Jones, Tyler Zeller, the Bucks decided to pick the 6’10″ defensive specialist.

Position: Power Forward
College: North Carolina
Height: 6’10″
Weight: 216 pounds
Standing Reach: 9’4″
Wingspan: 7’5″
Vertical Jump: 30 in.
2011-12 Stats: 13.7 ppg, 1.3 apg 9.9 rpg, 2.9 bpg

The Bucks selected Doron Lamb, a sharpshooting guard from Kentucky, with their second-round (#42 overall) pick.

What I like best about the trade/pick is that Hammond got the player he wanted originally at the #12 spot.  If the Bucks still had their pre-Dalembert hole in the middle, they would have taken Henson at 12 in a heartbeat.  Of course, after the trade, guard Jeremy Lamb slid to the #12 spot, and I’m sure the Bucks would have loved to have him, but without the trade, they likely wouldn’t have been taking a guard in that spot anyway.

Henson was a terrific rebounder (9.9 per game) at the college level, but would be well served to add weight and muscle to maintain that type of productivity in the NBA.

If there’s one legitimate knock on this pick, it would be that Henson bears a lot in common to some other big men on the Bucks’ roster: most notably Ekpe Udoh and Larry Sanders.  If John doesn’t already have the best hands in that trio, he will soon.

John Hammond’s post-pick interview (from Bucks.com) is completely and 100% correct, yet at the same time, he comes off as a person possessing deep battle scars from the Bogut trade.  The number of times he says length and shot blocker is scary.

“We are really excited to add length. We added more length to our team and another shot-blocker. The last two days now, we’ve added Samuel Dalembert, who is one of the better shot-blockers in the NBA. I think we’ve added the second-best shot-blocker in this draft in John Henson — and that kind of length — a guy that can play multiple positions. We’re so excited to have him…

We couldn’t be any happier. To add that kind of size, that kind of length, that kind of shot-blocking… that was a real concern for us going into this postseason.”

I hate to pick nits, but the postseason is when you play games to determine a champion.  The offseason is when you make draft picks. With any luck in these upcoming seasons, John Henson make his mark on postseasons, not offseasons.

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Below is a pre-draft video from Mike Schmitz and DraftExpress that summarizes Henson’s skill-set well.  One of his strengths is length. Go figure.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee Bucks trade for center Samuel Dalembert was a John Hammond move in every sense of the phrase. While not as exciting as bringing in loose lips that have sunk an admirable number of ships (Stephen Jackson) or a guy that looks like he could be cast in The Expendables (Corey Maggette), this was a comprehensive value move that cost little financially and immediately upgrades the Bucks’ starting lineup. (more…)