Bucks Check Out A Number of Top College Prospects

By Jackson B. | Posted Wednesday, June 27

The Bucks continued to hold pre-draft workouts for hopeful draftees this week. Already, the team has had a number of impressive prospects walk the court of the Cousins Center, including hometown favorites Jordan Taylor, Jae Crowder, and Darius Johnson-Odom. This week, the team looked past some of the local talent, bringing in a star-studded group of former college athletes for drills on Wednesday. A pair of “Joneses” made the biggest splash during this camp, both of whom have had successful collegiate careers, and will likely still be around for the Bucks number twelve draft pick on the twenty-eighth.

Baylor's Perry Jones came into the day with the most interesting back story. He is entering the draft just two years into his college career, and just a year after he was expected to be a top-five pick in the 2011 draft. The young athlete had an extraordinary freshman season, and was encouraged by a number of experts to apply for the draft following that season. Jones hadn't had enough of the college life yet, something he admitted to reporters on Wednesday, and chose to remain at Baylor for another year.

Jones knew better than anybody that his stock in future drafts would only go down, should he not continue to put up great numbers. His bet did not pay off, as Jones failed to gain any ground during his sophomore year, instead remaining fairly consistent with his first year output. Scouts took notice, and his projected stock in the 2012 draft fell accordingly. Scoring an average of just thirteen points per night, and seven rebounds (something that the team's director of scouting Billy McKinney said did not reflect his unique talent level,) Jones is now seen by most experts as a go in the vicinity of the twentieth pick. McKinney told reporters following the workout that he thought Jones performed well at the camp, easily outdoing the other talent on the floor that day. McKinney said that he is excited about the young man's chances in the league, and, should the Milwaukee Bucks pick him up, his chances at bulking up the team's struggling front court.

Kentucky's Terrence Jones was also on hand for Wednesday's drills. For his part, the elder Jones still lacks a true position in the eyes of McKinney, though that could be an asset to the Bucks, who have made a tradition of molding rookie talent into focused position players.