What is it like for you to come back to the Bucks?
I really feel like I have two alma maters, having went to the University of Montana for four years and having over half of my NBA career be in Milwaukee. I’ve always kept close tabs on what the Bucks have been doing.

What are your feelings on leaving Montana?
It’s hard to leave Montana. The emotions on Monday and Tuesday – a lot of it had to do with the players on the team, some of the younger kids on the team that you have a relationship with. We had some success there for a couple of years, so that was probably the hardest part of the whole thing. And getting on the plane this morning and landing here this afternoon, it couldn’t feel more right. I’m just really excited. I feel that energy level again, the newness of it and, kind of, the learning curve. I’m eager to just kind of kick back and let some of this start soaking in.

Did you always envision getting to the NBA in a coaching role?
You know what? I really did want to get into the NBA. I think one of the things you deal with initially after you’re done playing is the thought that you’re “one of those players that’s just kind of waiting for the check” and you’re not ready to be unemployed. The advice from everybody I talked to is that (I needed) to get into the coaching ranks and (I needed) to start proving that I was willing to work. And that’s what I did. And a lot of times an opportunity comes up at your alma mater. And that’s where it all started back in ’98 with an opportunity to get on the assistant staff there for a few years and things just moved along from there. But, certainly, this is the top of the profession. I think the best players in the world are here, there’s an awful lot of excitement and very positive things going on with the NBA. It’s something I very much wanted to be a part of.

Andrew Bogut will be one of your “students” with this team. How much do you know about him?
That’s something I’m looking to forward to finding out more about. I didn’t see a whole lot of games with the Bucks. I probably knew more about Andrew when he was with Utah, being next door to us. And I’ve had a chance to visit with some of his coaches there and get a little bit of background, and some of the players that we had recruited at Montana and Old Dominion were Australian kids. So, they knew more about Andrew than I did, from being around him growing up and (with him) being one of the better players in Australia. So I’m excited about it. I’m going to watch a bunch of tape and ask questions and certainly try to make a connection with him. That’s a big part of it.

What do you think of the Bucks roster in general?
I think it’s solid. Visiting with Terry about it, coming down to the last games of the season last year, the differences between being fifth, sixth or eighth, things kind of change and they’re a competitive team for sure. And a young team. If you look at Bogut and (T.J.) Ford, they’re fairly young. If those guys continue to improve, it’s a roster that has a lot of potential.

Have you had talks about what particular area you’ll be focusing on?
Some of that’s going to come in some meetings here. Maybe working with some of the development with the big men inside. That’s going to be something I look forward to. But right now, it’s all coming pretty quick. We’re going to sit down in some meetings and get lined out a littler better what’s to be expected.

Is it exciting for you to me coming back to Milwaukee, specifically, for your first NBA coaching job?
I told Senator Kohl ... hypothetically, let’s say that if there were three NBA job offers on the table and Milwaukee was one of them, that’s the one I’d be inclined to lean towards. We laughed about it however many years ago how there were 19 Krystkowiaks in the phone book. I’m not sure how many there are now. But it’s a city I love. It’s a blue collar city that I could relate to as a player and I loved every minute of the time I was here.

How’s the knee?
The knee’s good. As long as I don’t try to play, everything’s fine.

The height of the Bucks coaching staff is pretty impressive now.
People are getting bigger in general. At our coaching staff in Montana, we had a coach that was bigger than me and then we had another one that was 7-5. So we might have had the biggest collegiate staff in America. I’m just looking forward to being around with a new groups of guys. I just caught up with everybody upstairs. Mike (Sanders) and Lester (Conner) I’ve known and I played with Lester here for a while. I haven’t seen him since those days, and that’s a great start to this.

Can you talk about the differences between coaching in college and coaching in the NBA?
Number one, we’re about a week away from the prime recruiting time at college. It’s an area that really doesn’t exist here. It’s a lot about trying to develop players, trying to win the next game, trying to get a little bit better in practice. You’re dealing with people that have reached the upper levels in their profession. Like every profession, emotions are different. Personalities are different. I think it’s imperative to try and make a connection with some of those differences and personalities. People talk about the ego of an NBA player and the ego of a lot of professional athletes. There’s a reason that they’ve reached the top of their profession and a lot of times it comes with an ego and having an idea of how things need to be done, sometimes being stubborn. So it’s important, over the course of an NBA season especially, to try and make a connection and to try to keep improving everyday without dealing with a lot of those emotions. That’s probably the biggest thing, I think. But, you know, I’m new at this. This is day one, so I’m looking forward to picking a lot of people’s brains and asking for their help.

What stands out the most about your playing career with the Bucks?
What a great group of guys that I had to play with. You know, I was fortunate to come in and have Jack Sikma, Sidney Moncrief, Paul Pressey and Rickey Pierce. You talk about the epitome of professional guys. I remember the first road trip I was on, the bar was set high on how you were supposed to carry yourself. Sidney Moncrief gave me some grief, and we’ve since laughed about it, but you knew around those guys that you were not to just try and win games, but it was important how you looked in an airport and carried yourself. They brought it everyday in practice and competed really hard. Those are my fondest memories. And then, of course, on the other end of the spectrum was kind of when it all shut down with the injury. I can’t get that out of my mind and people keep reminding me of that, too. Kind of the whole scope of things.

Do you feel fortunate to be able to leave one “home” and come to another “home”?
Yeah, definitely. I feel very fortunate. Very blessed. I’m kind of pinching myself that it’s all happening. Missoula, Montana and Milwaukee, Wisconsin are two of my favorite places and to have an opportunity to get into the league as a coach, it’s not an easy thing to do. I thank Terry (Stotts) and Larry Harris and Senator Kohl … I’ve mentioned it before that I felt as a player I was given that opportunity for the first time here as a Buck. You know, that door opened. And now, I don’t know how many years later … almost twenty years later, I feel like the door’s been opened again and I’m really appreciative of the opportunity.

Have you ever thought about being an NBA head coach?
It’s really early to be … a guy needs to earn his stripes and soak some of this stuff in and gain a better understanding for it. I need to try to figure out a way right now to help Terry win as many games and whatever he needs to do, that’s where my focus lies.