Worst. Bench. Ever.

The other shoe finally dropped on Mo Williams in Milwaukee the other day, as he found himself as the next player in a long line of LeBron-sidekick hopefuls. The three-team trade involving Milwaukee, Cleveland and Oklahoma City cost the Bucks Mo and Desmond Mason for a return of Luke Ridnour, Damon Jones and Adrian Griffin.

This begs the question: What are the Bucks doing?

Remind me again why they signed Tyronn Lue? After the latest move, Milwaukee's roster shows a net gain of two point guards, none of whom are a established starter in the league. In addition, this offseason Milwaukee has managed to bring in the four oldest players on its current roster through trades and free agency.

I see the intent, which is to acquire players that are willing and able to do the little things/dirty work (ie: scant playing time and no touches). But again, I question the execution of the plan. None of these bench guys are any good.

It's true, the Bucks now feature a formidable starting five of Bogut, Villanueva, Jefferson, Redd and Sessions. Ridnour is capable off the pine, and Charlie Bell has his moments. Jones can make the occassional big shot and does well on camera, but he's worn out. The two rookies face a learning curve and I do not expect too much. Heck, Joe Alexander never dominated at West Virginia until the final postseason run of his college career.

The frontcourt depth is a mess, considering "serviceable" might be overrating Dan Gadzuric, Francisco Elson, Malik Allen and Griffin. Making a run at restricted free agent Carl Landry would have been a fantastic alternative, however fruitless it turned out to be.

On the bright side, the Mo trade cleared a big contract and helped alleviate the small forward log jam. Who would of thought three years ago before Michael Redd got his max deal from Herb Kohl that it would be a different Buck from the backcourt winding up in Cleveland?

WIAA's Annual Meeting Raises Concerns

Executive director Doug Chickering warned WIAA delegates Wednesday about the trend toward elite training programs that could sap the competitive nature out of the high school sports scene. Chickering cited a letter from the U.S. Soccer Academy that actually chided club teams for allowing their players to participate in interscholastic athletics. So, could prep hoops be next?

Countless man-hours have been wasted calling out the AAU circuit for the downfall of modern civilization. But when it comes to basketball, AAU ball may only be the tip of the iceberg. Now that the NBA has set it's sights on revamping amateur basketball alongside the NCAA, high school basketball as we now it could eventually be headed for a ride into the sunset. Camps like the Nike Skills Academy have been around for a few years now and just recently, training programs like Adidas Nations have successfully pulled elite players away from the AAU scene for the summer in the hopes of grooming the kids for international play.

While power brokers like David Stern and USA basketball have in mind globalization and a return to the gold medal standard, high school sports administrators seem to be concerned about the mediocre majority being left behind. However, I think there is a gap in logic there. People like Chickering say they are truly concerned about the common youth athlete, but this is about revenue. Keep all your premier young athletes, and organizations like the WIAA guarantee themselves record-breaking crowds and gate receipts each new year at arenas across the land. But think about it: Would fever-pitched fanaticism at state tournaments evaporate because two or three (10? 20?) of the top high school basketball players in Wisconsin decided on a route similar to junior league hockey? Possibly, but unlikely.

If the truly elite athletes started disappearing off to who-knows-where like little gymnasts of the new millennium, it would seem to me that they would leave behind a more level playing field. Not to mention more playing time for lil' John Q. Public Jr. Sure, missing out on the next LeBron playing high school hoops would deprive the fans, but it is not going to devastate the other kids still on the court. In fact, without a transcendent Greg Oden (or Sam Okey) steamrolling through the state tournament, wouldn't more teams have a chance at that elusive state title? What's not to like about that, Doug?

In other news, Chickering also said that the number of public school students in the state's open enrollment program is now equal to the entire private school population. The perception of private school recruiting has certainly been a hot topic in the last decade; maybe that argument is going the way of the buffalo also.

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SLAM Magazine noted that Mike Bruesewitz "made an impression" during the recent Real Deal on the Hill AAU tournament. Author Aggrey Sam even called Bruiser "athletic" so, ya know ... no more questioning Bruiser's street cred.

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Absolutely great play by Carl Landry at the end of the Rockets-Jazz game Thursday night.* Michael Flowers-esque actually -- track down the replay (ed: Got it!) and don't miss the save to his teammate off of the blocked shot. It's about time Houston gave that guy some playoff minutes.

*I hate that rule that let's NBA teams advance the ball to half court on a timeout. It sacrifices some of the game's integrity if you ask me.

Gearing Up For Draft Day

Today was the final day of the NBA's official pre-draft camp in Orlando. Neither of Wisconsin's standout seniors, Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor, were in attendance. While Taylor was uninvited, Tucker may have caught some fans off guard by turning down his invitation to the camp.

But don't take their absences for inactivity. Both players have been hitting the gym to hone their skills in the meantime.

The general consensus was that Tucker could not have improved his stock much by attending the camp and possibly exposing weaknesses to a wide audience. After a hot start in his final season, Tucker was being mentioned as a player of the year candidate in addition to seeing his draft stock rise into the lottery area. However, despite an overall stellar senior campaign, Tucker cooled considerably heading into the off-season. Tucker worked out with a few other top prospects in Chicago this week, but his shooting still is not impressive, according to the player evaluation on DraftExpress.com. In it's latest mock draft, Draft Express lists Tucker falling into the second round.

Due to trades, several quality teams will be drafting near the top of the second round. This would seem to be an ideal situation for a mature player like Tucker, who might be able to find a niche contributing off the bench with his athleticism and hustle right away. The potential for more playing time would come with a lesser team, but often those type of teams are in such disarray that players get lost in a shuffle of mismanagement and a losing environment.

Conversely, Taylor is not on the NBA's draft radar, to the surprise of few. However, a very complimentary paragraph about Taylor appears on a different DraftExpress report. Taylor had been working out with a few Purdue and Ohio State players, including Greg Oden and Carl Landry, at the Champions Academy in Zionsville, Ind. Landry (who also shattered a backboard), termed the workout "a Big Ten reunion."

This is the first year in which draft hopefuls were not allowed to work out privately for NBA clubs prior to the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp. Starting June 5, players can begin those individual workouts for teams.