As mentioned yesterday, the Pistons are rumored to be interested in drafting Kyrylo Fesenko, a raw, 6-foot-11 19-year-old out of the Ukraine. Fesenko recently worked out with the Bucks, and DBB reader LanierFan spotted this humerous account of the practice session. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
About halfway through the 70-minute workout, Bucks assistant coach Brian James told the players he wanted them to "put the ball on the floor," meaning take a dribble before shooting. Fesenko was first up, and after taking a pass near the baseline, he softly set the ball on the court and walked away looking puzzled as if to say, "Why did you want me to do that?"
After pausing to take in what happened, the coaches, including head coach Terry Stott and Dave Babcock, the Bucks' director of player personnel, broke into laughter.
"Well, he's coachable," James said as another coach explained to Fesenko what the jargon meant. "He did exactly what I told him to do."
Fesenko smiled about it but did not seem to think it was as amusing.
"I just don't understand," he said in rough English. "He told me to put it down. I don't know what it means."
The last drill of the workout was a two-on-two, full-court game. When it was announced that the next team to score won, Fesenko, who was taking out the ball under the far baseline, threw it off Grier's backside, hopped back inbounds and raced down for the dunk.
The other players, including teammate Bennerman, watched in confusion. The coaches threw up their hands, laughed again and counted the point as Fesenko walked back as if nothing was unusual.
The Bucks hold the 39th overall draft pick, and according to the Journal-Sentinel, Babcock made it clear that Fesenko is the player the Bucks are most interested in drafting. That's bad news for the Pistons, who hold the 60th pick, and are rumored to be interested in acquiring Seattle's 40th overall pick. Now, perhaps Babcock is telling the truth, but I find it a little odd that the Bucks would tip their hand so quickly. Maybe the Bucks are interested in Fesenko, but maybe they're also interested in soliciting trade offers for their second-round pick.
(Thanks for the tip, LanierFan -- keep them coming, guys!)
The court jester [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, via DraftExpress]