Johnny O'Bryant

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YouTube was  not made for the power forward from LSU. Try if you like. He backs down  defenders on the block and finishes with either hand. He faces up and scores.  He steps out to the midrange, but not to 3-point range. He optimistically  references David West as a player comparison.

He went to  high school on the east side of Cleveland… Mississippi. The #36 overall draft  pick doesn’t have a picture on his Wikipedia page.

He is an  old-school player, if you can be an old-school player with a birth date in  1993. He is the type of player that your dad might say good things about, if  your dad tunes in (tune in, dad).

People didn’t  line up outside the gym trying to get a glimpse of Johnny O’Bryant III in Las  Vegas, but he earned mostly positive reviews in Summer League, averaging 8.2  points and 5.2 rebounds in 18.2 minutes.

Yet all of  this attempts to draw an equivocal and oversimplified picture of something, of  someone, who is incomplete and complex. O’Bryant was a McDonald’s All-American  in high school who went to college and reinvented himself each of his three  years at LSU. To many fans, his selection was a surprise. To the team, his  availability was a surprise.

Here are a  few excerpts from my recent chat with Billy McKinney (Bucks Director of  Scouting) about O’Bryant:

Where did  you have O’Bryant ranked on your big board?

I thought he  was a First Round pick. He was one of the few guys in this draft who was a  natural back-to-the-basket player. Much like Jabari, not only can he score with  his back to the basket, but he can also play on the elbow, make the seven- or  eight-foot shot. He is an excellent passer and rebounder. I liken him to a  combination of Al Jefferson and Reggie Evans. A really good rebounder and  legitimate inside scorer. I thought he had a really excellent first night. So  for him to slip down to No. 36, we just didn’t think he would be there.

What did  you see in particular that you liked at his pre-draft workout in Milwaukee?

Dave Babcock (vice  president of player personnel) and I saw him quite a bit. We had been watching  him since he was a McDonald’s All-American, and one of the things that changed  over the past couple years is that he has really gotten himself into great  shape, great basketball shape. What we saw from him over the course of the year  was a guy who was really good on the glass, a really good offensive rebounder.  But also a guy with a really good basketball IQ, and someone who is unselfish  as far as making passes out of the low post and not forcing the action to score  inside.

Do you see  him further along offensively or defensively at this stage in his career?

Right now, I  would say offensively, that is his strength. Defensively, he is going to have  to get better. But one of the things he does have for his size, when we watched  him in the summer camps through his college years, is that he really moves his  feet very well. That will enable him to cover the pick-and-roll out on the  floor. And he is kind of an undersized four at 6-8, so he is going to really  need to focus on being solid at rebounding fundamentally, which is something he  showed at LSU.

He had  some pretty good games against big-name players such as Julius Randle (averaged  22.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in three games against Kentucky last season). Do  performances against elite competition factor heavily in evaluating a prospect?

Sure. It does  mean something. And it is not just about playing against Julius Randle. I was  talking to Kenny Payne (associate head coach at Kentucky), and he was saying  here is a guy who is giving us big numbers, and he is getting double- and triple-teamed.  So for him to do that speaks volumes about the type of player he is.

In the  past you have told me that the team drafts for talent and trades for need. You  picked up a few more guys in the draft who can play forward, when that is  arguably not a position of need. Is the philosophy still to draft for talent, to  get the best player available?

Yes,  absolutely. We are going to take the best player available. We thought O’Bryant  was a First Round pick. That was our assessment. And if you go back to the  history of the Second Round over the past 10 years, I don’t think you will find  many players who have his ability to score with his back to the basket. So for  him to fall there, we were pretty lucky.

scouting-johnny-obryant

Scouting Johnny O'Bryant

Selected with the 36th overall pick by  the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft … College: Played three seasons at  Louisiana State from 2011-13 and averaged 12.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.3  assists in 91 games (79 starts) … one of 14 players in LSU history to record  1,000+ points and 700+ rebounds in career … 1,157 points puts him at 31st  on Tigers scoring list and 700 rebounds is 20th in school annals …  in 2014, named as a coaches All-SEC First Team selection, AP All-SEC Second  Team selection, and USBWA and NABC All-District player … after sophomore season  in 2013, was named to the All-SEC First Team by the coaches, All-SEC Second  Team by the AP and All-District by the USBWA … recorded 25 career  double-doubles as a Tiger … scored 10+ points in 28 games his junior season  (2013-14) … led the team in scoring his sophomore season, averaging 13.6 points  … High School: Appeared in the 2011  McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic as a senior at  Eastside High School (Cleveland, Miss.).

Johnny O'Bryant

Scouting Johnny O'Bryant

Bucks 2014 Summer League Roster: Johnny O'Bryant

Bio: Johnny O'Bryant

Bucks Select Johnny O'Bryant at #36