Andrew Bogut Auditions for Bucks

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">St. Francis - Andrew Bogut prides himself on his knowledge of the National Basketball Association. So when the potential top pick in the upcoming draft was asked to name the Milwaukee Bucks' lineup, the 7-foot, 254-pound center had little problem.

"T.J. (Ford), Michael Redd, Desmond Mason, Joe Smith and me," Bogut said with a perfect deadpan.

Hey, maybe the 20-year-old Australia native knows something.

Bogut did his best Monday morning to show the Bucks they should select him with the No. 1 pick in the draft next Tuesday. In a rapid-pace individual workout at the Cousins Center, he showed a polished post-up game but struggled from the perimeter and on his foul shots.

After it was over, the Utah sophomore made it clear he was ready to don a Bucks uniform on draft night.

"They don't have a true center, and I can establish that," Bogut said. "A guy like Michael Redd, I can find him open a lot; I can hit him with good passes on back cuts or flashing to the basket. Or the high fliers like Des Mason and Joe Smith, I'd love to play with those guys. And T.J. Ford is lightning-quick like Tony Parker."

Nothing Bogut did in his workout Monday surprised the assembled Bucks brass, including team owner Herb Kohl, general manager Larry Harris, coach Terry Porter and director of player personnel Dave Babcock. The big man battled through any fatigue while refusing to take breaks during the 45-minute session.

"I think I showed I could shoot a hook going either way, that I'm ambidextrous, that I can get up and down the floor," Bogut said. "I can jump, I'm athletic and I can throw it down.

"I know I'm athletic enough to play in the NBA."

Bogut said he would grade his workout with an A for his inside play, a B-minus or C for his outside game "and my free-throw shooting was probably a zed."

He has been training hard for the past two months at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., preparing for his workouts with the Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks, who pick second in the draft. He will work out with the Hawks on Friday.

"For a right-handed player, his left hand is really uncanny," Harris said. "It's really a special weapon that he has, both as a scorer and a passer.

"They ran the Princeton offense at Utah, and he can face you at the free-throw line. He's more of a threat than just with his back to the basket."</div>

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<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Strong points
Not that you could tell much from an exhibition conducted mostly for the media's benefit, but Bogut has a lot of refinement, dexterity and athleticism for someone his size. He also has perseverance and endurance; he refused a water break and didn't poop out as Williams did the day before. But what you really wanted to see - but could not with a one-man workout - was passing and defense, because all the great centers could pass and defend.
Bogut is also long on smarts, wit and eloquence, as one might expect from an athlete with international experience. Tested by a question on the Bucks' roster, he ticked off all the starters by position before listing himself as the center. The ability to say the right things and speak at length with substance won't get the Bucks back to the playoffs, but it certainly didn't hurt during Bogut's interview with Herb Kohl.

It was interesting to chart the senator's body language during the workout. Whereas Kohl remained seated Sunday with his staff at Williams' session, the senator stood and paced the perimeter of the practice floor as Bogut went through his drills with two assistant coaches. Kohl had the manner of a car-lot customer on the verge of a decision, but needed to expend nervous energy just to make sure.</div>

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<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">? Bucks assistant Bob Ociepka kept the 7-foot Bogut on the move, directing him through a series of foul-line jumpers. Bogut showed nice form and hit 14 of 23 attempts from around the free throw line.

? Bogut successfully negotiated an obstacle course and looked good while dribbling behind his back, then sank two jumpers. After a missed jumper from the foul line, the Australian followed up with a dunk. "Finish it, that's good," Ociepka said.

? Bogut obviously was tired about 35 minutes into the 45-minute workout, but he refused to take a break. He powered home two dunks, and made three of four short jumpers. "I wanted to show 'em I'm in shape and I'm ready to do this," Bogut said. "I don't need seven or eight water breaks. I was actually determined. I was so mad at myself for shooting the ball so badly that I wanted to keep going."

? On a catch-and-shoot drill, Bogut missed all five shots he took, then missed two more from beyond the three-point arc. "He's more upset that he missed free throws and missed some shots," Bucks general manager Larry Harris said. "He'd like to be perfect; that's what drives him."

? The Utah center showed a nice touch in hitting a right hook and a left hook in succession, over Bucks assistant Mike Sanders. "You guys saw him in 15 post-up shots," Harris told reporters. "You can determine the guy has a right and left hand; he's very comfortable down there. If he's the guy we end up choosing, I can't even remember the last one we had at that level, maybe Vin Baker, a guy you can throw the ball to in the post."

? "One last thing," Harris said from his courtside seat as the workout wound down. Bogut ended the Cousins Center session with a full-court outlet drill, going the length four times and finishing with dunks twice and with two jumpers. Before the drill started, Ociepka asked Bogut, "Do you need a drink, because you're going to run full court." Bogut shook his head. He made a right-hand and left-hand dunk, missed the first jump shot and hit the last one. Harris got up from the table and clapped his hands to signal the workout was done, at 10:58 a.m.</div>

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