Van Grundy hearts the New Bucks

Going around the ESPN post draft table, eliciting opinions on which teams faired the best on draft day, former coach and defensive taskmaster Jeff Van Gundy mentioned the Milwaukee Bucks.

Van Gundy said the Bucks were one of the softest, most divided teams in the NBA (Bucks Diary: "Agreed"). He said they needed to toughen up and start playing defense (Bucks Diary: "Heartily Agreed"), and they went out and hired a coaching staff that will demand intensity (Bucks Diary: "That's what history seems to show").

He went on to say that acquiring Richard Jefferson will bring needed toughness (Bucks Diary:"Probably") and will also shore up the small forward position (Bucks Diary: "That I'm a little more skeptical about because of his recent history. But I'm willing to be patient"). He said Joe Alexander, having been coached by Bob Huggins, would also have the "tougher mindset" (Bucks Diary: "Less sure about that. Didn't Huggins only coach Alexander for one season? But it did seem that Alexander developed a more physical, less perimeter-oriented style of play in that one season, so Van Gundy could be right.").

Finally, he said adding a "Prince" from UCLA capped the night (Bucks Diary: "First of all, BucksNation is a meritocracy. We do not recognize "Princes". The only formal titles we recognize are "Beer Drinkers" and "Win Contributors". So our question is, will his Royal Highness be acquiring rebounds as he did his freshman year?").