I'm also personally interested in the kind of season that Dan Gadzuric will have. He may be overlooked by some but he can have a very positive bench presence on this team if he can become more consistent.

2001 REVISITED
It's been only five years since the Bucks were on the brink of the NBA Finals. The 2000-'01 Bucks lost to Philadelphia in seven games in the Eastern Conference finals. That team stands as a perfect example of how quickly things change in the NBA. Michael Redd is the only current Bucks player left from that season's team and Michael was essentially a "redshirt", only playing in six regular season games and none in the playoffs as a rookie. Bucks head coach Terry Stotts was an assistant on that 2001 team. One of my personal memories of that 2001 team was heading to Philadelphia for Game 7 and packing for a week. If the Bucks had won, I was going right on to Los Angeles for the start of the finals. Unfortunately, that trip to LA was never made. Every once in a while I still think--what if Ray Allen hadn't gotten hurt in Game 7? What if Scott Williams hadn't been suspended? That team was fun to watch but very fragile. Things started to unravel when Anthony Mason was acquired during the next training camp. The tenuous "Big 3" chemistry of Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell disintegrated and George Karl's honeymoon crashed when the Bucks missed the playoffs with a stunning late-season fade in 2002. It's all a testament that when you're winning in the NBA, enjoy it. Things will change. Quickly.

TRIVIA TIME
Q: The 1975 NCAA Final Four featured five future Milwaukee Bucks. Who were they?

A: The teams were UCLA, Kentucky, Louisville and Syracuse. Marques Johnson, Dave Meyers and Richard Washington played for UCLA. Kevin Grevey was on Kentucky and Junior Bridgeman played for Louisville. UCLA beat Louisville in a semifinal thriller and then defeated Kentucky for the title in John Wooden's last game as coach.

HOW THE CENTRAL DIVISION SHAPES UP
The Bucks helped themselves this off-season. They've improved their depth and their athleticism. They have the potential to be better defensively. If the holdovers improve, most notably Andrew Bogut and Bobby Simmons, the Bucks have an excellent chance to climb up in the standings. The Bulls will be a media darling in the preseason magazines because of the addition of Ben Wallace. I'm not sure Chicago has enough low-post scoring when the outside shots aren't falling, but the Bulls should be a defensive nightmare. Quite honestly, I still see Detroit as the best team in the Central. Big Ben's effectiveness was tapering off. Nazr Mohammed will be adequate. With a longer summer of rest, I still love the Pistons versatile core of Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace. Flip Murray was a shrewd acquisition. Cleveland is scary because LeBron James just keeps getting better. Rookies Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson could help in the backcourt. I still don't see the Cavaliers as being close to a championship contender. I'm not sure what to make of Indiana. Rick Carlisle would seem to be vulnerable. After weeks of negotiations, it appears Al Harrington will join Indiana and that's a big plus. I'm shocked the Pacers are apparently committed to Jamaal Tinsley at point guard. Of course, moves can still be made right up to the start of the regular season.

WOLF CONTINUES COACHING CLIMB
Former Buck Joe Wolf is the new head coach and general manager of the NBDL's Colorado's 14ers. Wolf told Denver reporters that he got the coaching bug while watching Bucks practices after his retirement as a player. Wolf says that then-Bucks coach George Karl allowed him to study game film with the coaching staff. Wolf considers Karl his mentor. Joe was coaching the Idaho Stampede of the CBA the last two seasons after beginning his coaching career as an assistant coach at William and Mary. Joe met his wife Jill, a Colorado native, while playing with the Nuggets.

TRIVIA TIME:
Q: Bucks assistant coach Larry Krystkowiak was the head coach at the University of Montana before joining Terry Stotts' staff. How many former Bucks players are currently head coaches in Division 1 men's college basketball?

A: Two. Lorenzo Romar at the University of Washington and Brad Holland with the University of San Diego.

FILLING A NEED
With the power forward spot manned by Charlie Villanueva and Brian Skinner, Bucks General Manager Larry Harris could afford to part with the classy Joe Smith. By acquiring Ruben Patterson, the Bucks allow David Noel to grow at a more natural pace. Patterson's presence should also have a positive impact on Bobby Simmons. Internal competition always is good for a team. Harris wanted the Bucks to be more athletic and defensive-minded. Patterson should help in those areas.

FORMER BUCKS IN THE NEWS
The Sporting News reports that former Buck Jiri Welsch will play in Spain this season...The Denver Post says that Joe Wolf is a candidate for the NBDL coaching job in Colorado.

WEB MAGIC
The Orlando Magic said it had 1.1 million hits on their website for a live webcast of four-day coverage of the Orlando Summer League.

TRIVIA TIME
Q: How many players on current NBA rosters have fathers who played for the Bucks?

A: Three. Mike Dunleavy of the Golden State Warriors is the son of the former Bucks player and coach. Sean May of the Charlotte Bobcats is the son of Scott May, who played for the Bucks in 1981-'82. John Lucas III played a little with the Houston Rockets last season and is on their current roster. It's worth noting that Dan Grunfeld, son of the former Bucks GM and player Ernie, played for the Indiana Pacers summer league team but is not listed on any current NBA roster. Highly-regarded college star Al Horford of the NCAA champion Florida Gators is the son of Tito Horford. He likely has a bright NBA future.

NBA'S INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
Associated Press reported recently that about 100 of the NBA's 450 players in the 2006-'07 season will be from outside of the United States. It's approaching 25 percent. The Bucks roster certainly has an international feel with Andrew Bogut (Australia), Dan Gadzuric (Holland), Ersan Ilyasova (Turkey), Damir Markota (Croatia) and Ha Seung-Jin (South Korea).

SKINNER CANDID ABOUT BLAZERS
Brian Skinner's news conference Monday was highlighted by some eyebrow-raising remarks about his brief time in Portland. Skinner said "when you have players that just don't care, it's contagious. Just like wildfire." Newspapers in Oregon have picked up on the remarks and followed up with Blazers officials.

PORTER BACK ON BENCH?
With Blazers owner Paul Allen deciding not to sell the franchise at this point, former Bucks coach Terry Porter could be headed to Detroit as an assistant coach to Flip Saunders with the Pistons. Porter was trying to put together a group in Portland to buy the Blazers. Porter played for Saunders in Minnesota. The Pistons have an opening because Sidney Lowe left to become the head coach at his alma mater, North Carolina State.

DIVISION SCHEDULE NOTES
Two of the Bucks Central Division foes face early tests in their schedule. The Bulls open with 11 of their first 15 games on the road. The Pacers have six back-to-backs in the month of November. Speaking of the Pacers, they seemed close to a sign-and-trade with Atlanta for Al Harrington before Harrington changed agents from Andy Miller to Arn Tellum. Now, Tellum says the field is wide open for discussions about Harrington.

WNBA FEELING NBA INFLUENCE
Interesting story recently in the Los Angeles Times about how 11 of 14 coaches now in the WNBA are men and that eight of those men have NBA ties. As we've mentioned before in Krause's Corner, former Bucks Dave Cowens and Brian Winters are head coaches in the WNBA. Former Bucks assistant Mike Thibault is also a very successful WNBA head coach. The other WNBA coaches with NBA ties are former players Joe Bryant, Muggsy Bogues and Bill Laimbeer and former NBA coaches Richie Adubato and Paul Westhead.

TRIVIA TIME
Q: How many NBA MVP award winners have played for the Bucks? This doesn't mean they won the MVP award while they were with the Bucks.

A: Four. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the MVP in a Bucks uniform. He did it three times (1970-'71, 1971-'72 and 1973-'74). He also won three MVP awards with the Lakers (1975-'76,1976-'77 and 1979-'80). Oscar Robertson was the NBA's MVP for the Cincinnati Royals in 1963-'64. Dave Cowens was the MVP with the Boston Celtics in 1972-'73. Moses Malone won three MVP awards, two with Houston (1978-'79 and 1981-'82) and one with Philadelphia (1982-'83). Malone spent two seasons in the twilight of his career with the Bucks from 1991-1993. He averaged 15 points and 9 rebounds per game in the 1991-'92 season but played in just 11 games and was a non-factor in the 1992-'93 campaign. Moses jumped right from high school to the Utah Stars of the ABA in 1974. He finished his NBA career with San Antonio in 1994-'95.

BLAKE ADDS TO BUCKS NCAA CHAMPIONS
Pending further roster moves, the Bucks will have four players who won NCAA championships on their 2006-'07 roster. The four are newly acquired Steve Blake (Maryland 2002), Charlie Bell (Michigan State 2000), Charlie Villanueva (Connecticut 2004) and David Noel (North Carolina 2005). That's one short of the franchise-high for NCAA champs on a Bucks roster. Until they traded for Bob Lanier in February of 1980, the 1979-'80 Bucks had five NCAA champions. Marques Johnson, David Meyers and Richard Washington from UCLA's 1975 NCAA title team and Quinn Buckner and Kent Benson from Indiana's 1976 undefeated champs. Benson was traded to Detroit for Lanier, dropping the total to four.

OPENING ON THE ROAD
When the Bucks 2006-'07 schedule was released, there was no surprise in the fact that they're opening on the road. It will be the 22nd straight year for a Bucks season opener on the road. The last time the Bucks opened a season at home was in 1984 when they faced the Bulls. It was Michael Jordan's first regular season road game in the NBA. The Bucks won 108-106 behind 34 points from Terry Cummings. Orlando Woolridge led Chicago with 29. Jordan's rookie season brings to mind that I was working as a sportscaster in Peoria, Illinois when Jordan played in his first NBA preseason game there in 1984. The Bulls played the Pacers at the Peoria Civic Center. I went to the shootaround looking to interview Bulls coach Kevin Loughery and had to "settle" for just an interview with Jordan. By the way, that game in Peoria drew only about 3,000 people--less than one-third of capacity. At that time, Jordan was just another NBA rookie, not the icon he would grow to be.

VAN HORN PONDERS FUTURE
Former Buck Keith Van Horn is a free agent and his college coach, Rick Majerus, told the Rocky Mountain News that Van Horn could be considering retirement. Van Horn played with Dallas last season and could return to the Mavericks. Denver is reportedly interested. The 30-year-old Van Horn should be set financially for life. He just completed a $73 million contract.

HOWARD DAVID TAKES ON NEW CHALLENGE
Former Bucks radio play-by-play man Howard David added another line to his vast resume with hand-to-hand coverage of the World Series of Poker on Sirius Satellite Radio. Having worked with Howard for a year on Bucks broadcasts, I know his voice can make anything sound dramatic. I'm now practicing calling Uno games at home with my kids. Draw four!

TRIVIA TIME
Q: Only once in Bucks playoff history have they won a series opener on the road and gone on to lose the series. What was the year and the series?

A: In 1972, the Bucks routed the Lakers by 21 points in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals at the Forum. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 33 points for the Bucks in the 93-72 victory. The Lakers went on to win the series, 4 games to 2. Remember that the Lakers won a then-NBA record 69 games that season and set an NBA record with a 33-game winning streak (snapped by the Bucks on January 7 at the Milwaukee Arena). After winning the opener, the defending champion Bucks almost had the Lakers in an 0-2 hole. The Lakers pulled out Game 2 in an offensive carnival, 135-134. Kareem had 40 for the Bucks but on a team which featured Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Gail Goodrich--it was Jim McMillian who erupted for 42 points for the Lakers. Los Angeles then grabbed the lead in the series with a Game 3 win in Milwaukee, 108-105 behind 30 points from Goodrich. The next two games were lopsided, with the home team coasting in each. The Bucks took Game 4, 114-88, to even the series at two games apiece. But the Lakers carried Game 5 in California, 115-90, and then finished off the Bucks in Milwaukee in Game 6, 104-100. The Lakers went on to beat the Knicks 4 games to 1 in the 1972 NBA Finals. Ironically, the Lakers were routed at home by 22 points in Game 1 of that series as well before storming back with four straight wins. It was Jerry West's only NBA title as a player.

EYE ON THE FUTURE
Bucks General Manager Larry Harris was able to do a couple of things in the Jamaal Magloire trade Monday. He secured depth at point guard, power forward and center for the season ahead. But he also kept his options open for the summer of 2007. Whenever a team in the NBA makes a trade, it's important to look at contract length and future salary commitments. What the Bucks have done is secure their core for the long-term and stay flexible and nimble in the other spots. In the ever-changing NBA, that's wise.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Pending possible future moves, rookie David Noel could have a golden opportunity to earn playing time. The Bucks roster currently has only one other "pure" small forward in Bobby Simmons. While Terry Stotts will not doubt go "small" and "big" at times for matchup purposes, if Noel shows he's ready, he's likely to get on the floor.

THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS
It will be a busy couple of months for newly acquired Steve Blake. Not only does he have to move and adjust to a new team but his wife Kristen is expecting their first child in late September.

SHORT STUFF

TRIVIA TIME
Q: I played eight years in the ABA with the Nets, winning a championship with Julius Erving in 1976. I finished my pro career with the Bucks in 1977-'78. Who am I?

A: Jim Eakins. Another member of that 1976 ABA champion New York Nets team was former Wisconsin star Kim Hughes.

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