Behind the Bucks Pass
Fansided

Wisconsin Herd: Local player tryout brings dozens of players to Oshkosh

By Ti Windisch

OSHKOSH, WI - AUGUST 11: Jon Horst, General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, Wisconsin Herd general manager Dave Dean and head coach Jordan Brady pose for a photo during a press conference at the Oshkosh Convention Center on August 11, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
OSHKOSH, WI - AUGUST 11: Jon Horst, General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, Wisconsin Herd general manager Dave Dean and head coach Jordan Brady pose for a photo during a press conference at the Oshkosh Convention Center on August 11, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Wisconsin Herd hosted a local player tryout at an Oshkosh YMCA that brought nearly 80 G League hopefuls to the area.

Two sounds reigned supreme for most of the Wisconsin Herd local player tryout at the 20th Avenue YMCA in Oshkosh on Saturday. The first was obvious–basketballs being dribbled on the hardwood floor.

With 78 players in attendance along with an expanded coaching staff consisting both of Herd coaches that were announced the day before, plus some local high school head coaches that Wisconsin coach Jordan Brady invited to take part in the event, it’s no surprise that there was a lot of dribbling.

But the second sound, that’s one a causal observer might not expect to hear in a room full of unproven players all fighting for the same maximum of five Herd training camp spots open to local tryout players. Clapping.

More from Bucks News

It was nonstop, both during the various drills the players ran and the scrimmages that took place leading to a thinning of the Herd–as Wisconsin Herd general manager and Milwaukee Bucks vice president of basketball operations Dave Dean put it–as fewer and fewer guys got to stick around as the 4 p.m. end of the tryout drew closer. Somebody makes the right pass? They get a brief round of applause from their fellow players.

A shooter rises up and nails a triple soon after checking in? He’s getting high-fives and some vocal encouragement with his clapping. Good defense always led to support from the other players, as did a nice drive to the rack.

Dunks were missed more than they were made, but those that were completed got rewarded with ohhs and ahhs from around the room as well, with some particularly nasty slams getting yells and gasps.

Those kinds of team players, the ones who supported their fellow tryouts and were vocal on both offense and defense, were exactly who Brady said he was looking for.

When asked about what he watches for during one of the scrimmage rounds, Brady said he first looks for a specific skill–a player who can hit from downtown, or play strong defense, or a standout athlete. Then, one’s he’s found a player’s strength, Brady watches to see how they play the game.

Does a player only look for their own shots, or do they put teammates in a position to succeed? Are they supportive of their teammates? Are they physically fit enough to last through the long sessions? At least one tryout player went too hard, and ended up throwing up from the exertion.

Although the chances are slim that anyone in that YMCA gym on Saturday will be the next Jonathon Simmons, who was discovered by the San Antonio Spurs thanks to a local player tryout, Brady did say he expects the best of the best to move on with the Herd.

“We are, actually, going to be bringing players to our training camp from the local tryouts,” he said. “What we’re looking for right now is to find talented players, we’re really not trying to fit people positionally on our roster. What we want to find is just the best players available.”

Dean echoed that sentiment, saying the Herd isn’t so much looking for a point guard, or a wing, but instead trying to find the kind of players who can really jump out of the gym like the Milwaukee Bucks have done on the NBA level.

“The athleticism is big,” Dean said. “Athleticism at any level is huge. You can see what we’ve done on the Bucks roster is try to find athleticism, so if we can find that today maybe they’ll have an opportunity to join us in camp.”

It isn’t easy to come to the tryout and do well against such stiff competition. The Herd’s first head coach added that it isn’t even easy to end up in that gym in the first place when he addressed the gathered players before the tryout commenced.

“It takes a lot of courage to come in here and pursue your goals and your dreams,” Brady said. “And I’d like to thank every one of you for making that decision to come here today.”

Dean said that through his time working with the Bucks organization, he learned that tremendous players tend to stand out, despite their position or competition.

“I learned a long time ago from Dave Babcock, who was a longtime scout with us and a terrific basketball mind, and John Hammond, that when you walk into a gym, those guys who can play jump out real quick,” he said. “I think you’ll see that here today.”

Next: Jordan Brady is ready to lead the Herd

There’s no way to know yet if any of the 78 tryout players will make it to the Wisconsin Herd opening day roster, but they–along with a smaller group that will work out for the Herd in Milwaukee on Sunday–have a chance to be within a call-up of an NBA roster thanks to these tryouts.

Home/Bucks News