Larry Working Out for the Milwaukee Bucks today (June 14th)

[districtballer]

Larry is in Milwaukee today working out with Stanley Robinson (UConn), Kim Tillie (Utah), Jarvis Varnado (Miss. St.), Sylven Landesberg (UVa), and Tommy Mason-Griffin (Oklahoma).

Larry Sanders – VCU – Junior
11/21/88 – 6’11” – 235 lbs – Forward | Draft Profile

Career Highlights: Team was 75-27 during his three seasons with two regular season CAA titles and one postseason CAA title. Two-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year.
Strengths: Extremely long and athletic forward who can rebound and block shots at a high clip. Runs the floor extremely well for his size. Has a frame that should fill out nicely. Offensive game is a work in progress.

http://www.nba.com/bucks/features/draft_100614.html

Milwaukee holds the 15th and 37th picks in the 2010 draft.

 

[districtballer]

Around the Horns got quotes from Larry and Bucks Director of Scouting Billy McKinney following the workout, read the whole thing at http://www.vcuathletics.com/ramnote/ath-blog.php

Some excerpts:

Billy McKinney:

On if shot blocking is something that catches his eye…
“Oh no doubt about it. We’re a defensive oriented team and of course, one of the things that we’re looking at of course in the draft is trying to get more length and athleticism.”

On if Larry Sanders is in the mix at No. 15…
“I think that might be a little bit of a stretch, but anything is possible. This draft is a little bit crazy right now because we’re not sure how the top 15 is shaking out. Every week we go through mock drafts and we look at the mock drafts and different people are all over the board. We think that might be a little bit of a stretch (to have Sanders at 15) but we have him in anyway to look at him in the event that something might happen in the event that we might move back.”

Larry Sanders:

On what he would bring to the Bucks…
“I think I’d bring a lot of energy. That’s one thing I try to bring everyday, practice or games, my ability to run, especially with a point guard like who they have, and just my work ethic. I think I can work hard and push my teammates and push myself.”

On where he’s hearing that he’ll be drafted…
“I’m hearing first round. I try to stay away from people saying different things because at the end of the day, it’s basketball. You go out, you work out and hopefully one team will fall in love with me. It’s just basketball, I’m not getting too mixed up with the picks.”

On starting his basketball career only four or five years ago…
“I always have an open mind and I’m willing to learn all the time and I try to learn from everything, even rival players. So I think that’s helped me progress to this point.”

Bucks.com has a video up with comments from Billy McKinney as well as all the players involved in today's workout including Larry. You can find the video at:

http://www.nba.com/bucks/features/draft_100614.html#video

 

[districtballer]

Paul Imig has a Milwaukee Bucks blog on the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel called 'Bucks Beat'. He had a piece on Larry Sanders today going from a JV player who had never played basketball to an NBA first-rounder in 5 years.

Five years ago, NBA draft prospect Larry Sanders was a 6-foot-6-inch high school freshman in Port St. Lucie, Fla. At that point, Sanders had never played any sports in his entire life, including basketball.

Now, the 21-year-old is less than two weeks away from being drafted into the NBA and playing basketball for a living.

The now 6-foot-11-inch forward said he’s heard that he’ll be a first-round pick on June 24, which coincides with nearly all mock drafts.

“We wanted to have (Sanders) in (for a workout) to look at him in the event that we might move back (in the draft),” Bucks director of scouting Billy McKinney said.

Milwaukee currently holds the No. 15 pick in the first round, as well as No. 37 and 47 in the second round.

McKinney said that Sanders is the type of player he and the rest of the front office and coaching staff are looking to draft.

“We’re a defensive-oriented team, and of course, one of the things that we’re looking at in the draft with this team is trying to get more length and athleticism,” McKinney said.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/fanblogs/Bucks_Beat.html?tag=Draft

 

[districtballer]

Here's a snippet on Sanders from Milwaukee's Journal Times. VCU and Larry are getting a ton of pub right now. Think about it; every city Larry goes to he gets a couple of articles and several mentioning VCU as well. Pretty awesome stuff.

Unpolished gem?

Larry Sanders is one of the more intriguing prospects in the draft.

Sanders played in relative anonymity at Virginia Commonwealth and posted relatively modest numbers, averaging 14.4 points and 9.1 rebounds a game. But some NBA observers believe Sanders has a huge upside and marvel at his athleticism and his defensive abilities as a shot blocker and rebounder.

Sanders also has some noteworthy physical dimensions. At the Chicago pre-draft camp, he was measured at 6-9½ without shoes and had a freakish wingspan of 7-5¾.That was the same wingspan as Kentucky’s DeMarcus Cousins, who is expected to be a top five selection. Only Marshall’s Hassan Whiteside had a longer wingspan, that being 7-7.

Some veteran NBA scouts contend Sanders will be picked between 15 and 25. But he believes his talents are better than those draft projections. He recently held his own against Cole Aldrich of Kansas in a pre-draft workout with the Toronto Raptors and said he‘s matched up well against more highly-regarded big men in the draft.“I played against some really good players at the LeBron James Camp and the Amar’e Stoudemire Camp last summer and I did pretty well,’’ Sanders said. “That gave me a lot of confidence. “I knew then that I could play against those guys.’’

Sanders said he patterns his game after Boston’s Kevin Garnett.

“I like his focus and I like his intensity,’’ Sanders said of Garnett. “That’s how I try to play, too.’’

http://www.journaltimes.com/sports/article_efcac7c8-782e-11df-927f-001cc4c03286.html

 

[BaNgMyPrOgRaM]

It looks like I might have to root for Milwaukee in the East next year!

 

[ramnation]

The Bucks have completed a trade late Tuesday afternoon to acquire forward Corey Maggette from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for guard Charlie Bell and center Dan Gadzuric, the team confirmed.

The Bucks also will receive a second-round pick in Thursday's draft from the Warriors, the 44th overall selection. That means Milwaukee currently has four picks - No. 15 overall and three in the second round (Nos. 37, 44 and 47).

The 30-year-old Maggette was a high-scoring small forward and sometimes the sixth man for the Warriors, averaging 19.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in Golden State's high-octane offense.

Maggette played in 70 games last season, including 49 starts, and shot 51.6% from the field and 83.5% at the free throw line.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/bucks.html?tag=Corey+Maggette;+Dan+Gadzuric;+Charlie+Bell

How does this change the Bucks' drafting strategy? They just got a stud small forward in Corey Maggette who averages almost 20 points a game. I would think that they are no longer looking at the small forward position which would mean they probably wouldn't look at Aminu, Paul George, Gordon Hayward, or big scoring guards like James Anderson or Xavier Henry.

It looks more and more like Milwaukee will go with a big at 15...with all the rumors of a promise to Larry at 15, this trade seems to support the possibility that they may actually select him. I guess it really depends on who is available at 15 too. Either way, I thought it was an interesting development and it certainly doesn't hurt Larry's chances of being picked up by the Bucks.

 

[ramnation]

Jennings
Maggette
Delfino
Mbah Moute
Bogut

This is what the Bucks starting lineup will look like (John Salmons opted out of his contract today). I gotta think Larry would push Mbah Moute pretty quickly if he ends up there. I remember Mbah Moute not being able to hold Larry's jock in that UCLA tournament game in '09. With 15-20 pounds put on I could easily see him taking the spot from Mbah Moute and being a nice complement to Bogut in the post.