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PRESEASON SCHEDULE:
All times Central Time (CT)
| Tues., October 2 | Training camp opens |
| Sat., October 6 | FREE open practice | recap |
| Bradley Center - 12:00 Noon | |
| Tues., October 9 | W - Bucks 93, Bulls 88 |
La Crosse Center (La Crosse, WI) | recap | box |  video
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| Wed., October 10 | W - Bucks 90, Jazz 81 |
| Energy Solutions Arena (Salt Lake City, UT) | recap | box | |
| Sat., October 13 | L - Jazz 92, Bucks 78 |
| Bradley Center (Milwaukee, WI) | recap | box | |
| Tues., October 16 | L - Nuggets 104, Bucks 78 |
| Resch Center (Green Bay, WI) - 7:00 p.m. recap | box | |
| Sat., October 20 | Bucks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Bradley Center (Milwaukee, WI) - 7:30 p.m. |
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| Tues., October 23 | Bucks at Denver Nuggets |
| Pepsi Center (Denver, CO) - 7:00 p.m. | |
| Thurs., October 25 | Bucks at Chicago Bulls |
| United Center (Chicago, IL) - 7:30 p.m. | |
| Fri., October 26 | Bucks at Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Targer Center (Minneapolis, MN) - 7:00 p.m. |
IN THE MEDIA:
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TRAINING CAMP ROSTER:
| No. | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | Birthdate | College/Country | Yrs. Pro |
| 42 | Charlie Bell | G | 6-3 | 200 | March 12, 1979 | Michigan State | 3 |
| 6 | Andrew Bogut | C | 7-0 | 260 | November 28, 1984 | Utah | 2 |
| 50 | Dan Gadzuric | C | 6-11 | 245 | February 2, 1978 | UCLA | 5 |
| 12 | Royal Ivey | G | 6-4 | 215 | December 20, 1981 | Texas | 3 |
| 24 | Desmond Mason | G/F | 6-5 | 222 | October 11, 1977 | Oklahoma State | 7 |
| 34 | David Noel | F/G | 6-6 | 230 | February 27, 1984 | North Carolina | 3 |
| 22 | Michael Redd | G | 6-6 | 215 | August 24, 1979 | Ohio State | 7 |
| 51 | Michael Ruffin | F | 6-8 | 248 | January 21, 1977 | Tulsa | 7 |
| 7 | Ramon Sessions | G | 6-3 | 190 | April 11, 1986 | Nevada | R |
| 21 | Bobby Simmons | F | 6-6 | 230 | June 2, 1980 | DePaul | 5 |
| 20 | Awvee Storey | F/G | 6-6 | 225 | April 18, 1977 | Arizona State | 2 |
| 31 | Charlie Villanueva | F | 6-11 | 232 | August 24, 1984 | Connecticut | 2 |
| 43 | Jake Voskuhl | C | 6-11 | 255 | November 1, 1977 | Connecticut | 7 |
| 25 | Mo Williams | G | 6-1 | 185 | December 19, 1982 | Alabama | 4 |
| 9 | Yi Jianlian | F | 7-0 | 238 | October 27, 1987 | China | R |
CAMP NEWS:
TWO TOUGH LOSSES
Oct 16 2007 | The Bucks dropped their second straight preseason game after winning their first two. They lost in Green Bay on Tuesday night by a final of 104-78. The Bucks were done in by a slow second half in which they were outscored 55-35. Their offense shot just 32.5% from the field and the team turned the ball over 27 times. That gives the club 57 turnovers in their last two games, something coach Krystkowiak is aware of.
"One thing, I think, is that maybe we're not in the best shape when it comes to full-court conditioning," Krystkowiak told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We've been spending a lot of time in the half-court, defensive drills trying to shore up some deficiencies. But right now when you look at . . . when you turn the ball over as many times as we have in the last two games, I've got to believe that we're tired when we have the ball. You get a little complacent and you make errors. And when you see as many transition baskets that we're giving up, it leads me to believe that we're not in very good shape. We'll address that."
Charlie Bell (17) and Mo Williams (16) led the Bucks in scoring. The team will try to push their exhibition record back over .500 when they face the Timberwolves this Saturday at the Bradley Center. It's Milwaukee's annual MACC Fund Game, which has helped raise over $1.2 million for cancer research since 1977.
For more information on the MACC Fund, click here.
SHOPPING SURPRISE
Oct 11 2007 | Who said training camp was all about hard work and no fun? The Bucks took a break from their basketball duties on Thursday night and visited downtown Milwaukee's Metro Market Pick 'n Save where they surprised local shoppers. The players were spread throughout the store, assisting with various tasks, including the deli, bakery, checkout lines, food sample area and greeting fans at the front door.
Be sure to check out the photo gallery from the event.
BUCKS IMPROVE TO 2-0
Oct 10 2007 | The Bucks took down their second preseason opponent on Wednesday and - again for the second night in a row - held an opponent to 89 points or less. This time the victim was Utah and the point total was 81. Larry Krystkowiak has made a point to emphasize defense in this year's camp and it seems to be working. The Bucks held Utah to 43.7% shooting, including 2-11 from three-point range, and allowed just nine points in the fourth quarter.
"It's certainly not time to celebrate because it's going to be a work in progress," Larry Krystkowiak told the Journal Sentinel after the game. "But I've been somewhat blown away with our guys' focus defensively" since the start of training camp.
Leading the Bucks on the offensive end were Michael Redd (17) and Yi Jianlian (12). Yi played in a team-high 26 minutes. Andrew Bogut had a productive game (10 points, 7 rebounds) in limited action (19 minutes), and the Bucks bench outscored Utah's 42-33.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN (photo courtesy of Jeffrey Phelps, JSOnline.com)
Oct 9 2007 | "Right now, I'm kind of a mind-set to reward energy guys," Larry Krystkowiak told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after Tuesday's win over the Bulls in La Crosse. That's the reason he gave for starting high-energy players Desmond Mason and Dan Gadzuric alongside Mo Williams, Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut in Tuesday's preseason opener.
"I think Des and Danny G. have brought as much to the table in terms of energy as anybody so . . . it's early in the season, but it's just to make the statement that we're going to reward some of that," Krystkowiak continued.
The move worked. Mason and Gadzuric helped lead the Bucks to a 28-24 lead after a quarter of play, including 8 first-quarter points from Mason. Neither team led by very much for most of the game. The Bulls did pull out to a 12-point lead in the third quarter, but the Bucks came roaring back in the 4th, outscoring Chicago 29-18 to capture the 5-point win. Royal Ivey (9 points), Awvee Storey (8 points) and Charlie Villanueva (7 points) led the fourth-quarter offensive blitz, helping the Bucks shoot 60.0% in the frame.
The Bucks defense -- a talking point during the first week of training camp -- came through and held the Bulls to just 88 points. During last year's regular season, the Bucks did not hold an opponent to 89 points or less until Game #54 - an 84-83 loss to Detroit.
PLAYING WITH PASSION
Oct 8 2007 | As they entered week number two of camp, the Bucks showed no signs of slowing down during an intense Monday practice. As the Journal Sentinel reports, veterans Jake Voskuhl and Michael Ruffin knocked heads during a halfcourt drill towards the end of practice. Voskuhl was left with a deep gash on his chin and was taken into the training room where he received 8-10 stitches to patch up the wound.
"He hit the top of my head, and I kind of came up underneath his chin a little bit," Ruffin told the Journal. "We're out there working hard, and it's part of the game. Nobody's out there trying to hurt each other, but it's just one of those things. It happens."
Rookie Yi Jianlian was also sidelined momentarily when he sustained his second bloody nose in three days thanks to some in-your-face (literally) defense by Charlie Villanueva. Yi's nose was also bloodied during the team's annual open scrimmage on Sunday.
The team left for La Crosse immediately following practice today. They'll play in their first exhibition game tomorrow night against the Chicago Bulls at the La Crosse Center. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. and tickets are still available. For those of you living in Milwaukee who are considering making the trip, here's how you get there.
YI'S OFFICIAL WELCOME
Oct 7 2007 | Several organizations from the Milwaukee Chinese community worked together to plan an official welcoming ceremony for Yi Jianlian on Sunday. Several hundred members of the Milwaukee Chinese community were on hand for the event which took place in the Bradley Center's west lobby.
Bucks owner Senator Herb Kohl and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett were a part of the proceedings and both offered words of welcome to Yi. Mayor Barrett also declared Sunday, October 7, 2007 to be Yi Jianlian Day in the city of Milwaukee. Chinese Counsel General Ping Huang was also in town from Chicago. Yi was further joined on stage by teammates Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut, GM Larry Harris and coach Larry Krystkowiak. The entire event ran about 45 minutes and was highlighted by both a brief Q&A with Yi and a traditional lion dance to end the program.
You can read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's article about the event here.
OPEN SCRIMMAGE
Oct 6 2007 | Ah, today is always fun. The Bucks had their annual Open Scrimmage at the Bradley Center. 7,109 fans filled the lower bowl and watched Milwaukee's 16-man roster partake in an intrasquad scrimmage. Team Black came out on top, beating Team Grey by a final of 77-64. They were led in scoring by Andrew Bogut who had a game-high 24 points on 9-13 shooting to go along with 9 rebounds. Michael Redd led Team Grey with 17 points. Other 10-point scorers included Desmond Mason (24), Mo Williams (13), Charlie Bell (12) and Yi Jianlian (10).
It was the first public 'game' for Bucks rookies Yi Jianlian and Ramon Sessions. Yi excited the crowd when he nailed a halfcourt shot in between the third and fourth quarters to help a lucky fan win some exciting prizes. Speaking of halfcourt shots, all 16 players and Larry Krystkowiak launched halfcourt shots at the end of the game in an attempt to win random fans some VIP tickets to their home opener. Each fan got one shot and each player - paired with one fan each - had a shot as well. If either the fan or player made the bucket, they were winners. One of the fans nailed his shot and Coach K was the only player/coach to convert, doing so on a wild, high-arc shot that first bounced at the free throw line and then rose high enough to land in the hoop. Nice shot, coach!
The team practiced at the Bradley Center prior to the scrimmage. They'll most likely take tomorrow off before Monday's practice and travel day to La Crosse. They'll take on the Bulls in the first preseason game on Tuesday night at the La Crosse Center.
MEDIA DAY
Oct 5 2007 | The Bucks held their annual Media Day today. Dozens of reporters from throughout the state of Wisconsin made it out to the training center to load up on sound bites, photos and video of Bucks players and coaches. Several members of the international media were present as well, along with NBA Entertainment. Mo Williams was extra busy as he put some finishing touches on this season's editions of the Mo Show (yes, it's coming back!).
It was a long day for the players and coaching staff. After the three-hour media blitz, the team held a two-and-a-half hour, full-throttle practice.
The team now turns its focus on the always-popular Open Scrimmage at the Bradley Center, which takes place tomorrow (Saturday) at 12 Noon. Don't miss it!
YI ARRIVES
Oct 4 2007 | Yi Jianlian showed no visible signs of weariness after his 15-hour flight from Shanghai yesterday afternoon. He was in uniform early this morning at the Bucks training center, putting up jump shots with assistant coach Tony Brown. When the rest of his new team arrived on the court, he was quickly running drills with Coach Krystkowiak, Royal Ivey, Michael Ruffin, David Noel and Awvee Storey.
The Journal Sentinel was in Chicago for Yi's arrival on Wednesday and report that Yi received an enthusiastic greeting from a small group of Chinese fans from Milwaukee.
Bucks officials also said that he "had a big smile on his face" when he saw his mug on a giant billboard as he drove up I-94 into the city he now calls home.
Yi Jianlian arrives photo gallery
Transcript following Yi's first practice
EVE OF YI; REDD ENCOURAGED
Oct 3 2007 | The big news on Wednesday was that Yi Jianlian was scheduled to land in Chicago by late afternoon and be on the floor for practice by Thursday morning. It will be Yi's first visit to Milwaukee and his first practice with his new team.
Michael Redd is looking forward to Yi's arrival and has been impressed with camp so far.
“Training camp has been great and guys seem to be in good shape. We’re focusing on the defensive end right now. We’re trying to sharpen up our chemistry on the defensive end more than anything. Buts overall it’s great.”
IT'S A GOOD SIGN
Oct 2 2007 | Things looked pretty good for the Milwaukee Bucks during their first official day of training camp. In his first full season as head coach, Larry Krystkowiak was quick to get things moving right out of the gate during an intense morning session that included running, defense and more running. Coach K is sure to bring a few changes to the coaching position this summer and one of those changes can already be seen by anybody that comes to the team's training center.
Throughout the gym there are 11 red signs that feature different words of encouragement, inspiration and advice. They read:
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
Larry Krystkowiak
“The energy level is incredible. Opening indications were pretty positive.’’
Charlie Villanueva
"The East is going to be tough, but I think we're going to be right in the mix with a bunch of teams," Villanueva said. "Not a lot of people are talking about the Bucks; nobody is talking about the Bucks. But that's the way we want it to be. We're the sleepers. I don't mind being the sleeper - coming up and get you."
"We have to step it up a notch. The guys expect a lot from us, and the coaching staff expects a lot from us."
Desmond Mason
"(Larry Krystkowiak is) a no-nonsense and a straight-forward guy. He was blue-collar player and he's a blue-collar person. He seems like a very simple guy which is great in basketball. He's going to tell you what he wants and that's it. There's no in between or beating around the bush. I like that in a coach because there's no confusion. If you screw it up, it's on you."
Michael Redd
"It's got to be there. In order to win a championship, you've got to play defense."
Bobby Simmons
"Right now I look totally different than last season. I worked my butt off this summer."
Yi Jianlian
"The most exciting thing is today I can start to play as a Bucks player for the team. The most important thing is to integrate myself into the team, because I'm two days late, and I have a lot of things to catch up."
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