Milwaukee Bucks: Kevon Looney Headlines Latest Workouts
By Adam McGee
Feb 18, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Kevon Looney (5) reacts in the second half against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Wells-Fargo Arena. The Sun Devils defeated the Bruins 68-66. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Kevon Looney
I’ve spoken at length about Looney before, and probably will again before the Draft rolls around (not going to lie, he’s easily my favorite prospect that seems likely to be on the board at 17).
He’d offer the Bucks a lot of energy and effort as a power forward, particularly on the boards, and he also has sneaky potential to develop into a shooter. If they weren’t top priorities for the Bucks before, trading away Ersan Ilyasova has certainly made the issue more pressing.
Concerns about Looney surrounded his conditioning, how he’ll rebound in the NBA, and the need for him to polish up his offensive game. Rumors suggest that he may have helped quell some of those concerns for Milwaukee yesterday though.
Matt Velasquez of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel quoted the team’s Scouting Director Billy McKinney as saying:
"We were all impressed. One of the reasons we were was that his conditioning has improved. At times when I watched him last summer at some of the Nike and Adidas events, he looked a little fatigued. But he’s been working out really hard with his trainers and that was very apparent today in the workout."
Looney also displayed his own intelligence and a sense of the sort of role he could fulfil as an undersized rebounder in the NBA with his own thoughtful comparison:
"I have great faith in my rebounding ability. I’ve watched other great college rebounders make the transfer over that weren’t even that big like Paul Millsap or Kenneth Faried, so I think I can be in the mold like that."
He’s saying the right things, showing signs of progress on the court, there’s a lot to really like here.
Next: Matt Carlino