Bucks continue workouts with short-handed session

ST. FRANCIS — Fresh off the NBA draft combine last week in Chicago, the Milwaukee Bucks continued their pre-draft workouts Monday at their training center with a group of guards and wings.

It was supposed to be a six-man workout, but former Florida State standout Dwayne Bacon dropped out due to illness. The Bucks will attempt to get him in for a future workout.

That left a five-player group of Marquette's Jajuan Johnson, Xavier's Trevon Bluiett, Oregon's Tyler Dorsey, Houston's Damyean Dotson and Miami's (Fla.) Davon Reed.

Instead of playing 3-on-3, Monday's workout attendees took turns playing 2-on-2, which means covering more ground on defense.

"It was a terrific workout," Bucks vice president of scouting Billy McKinney said. "When you have to play 2-on-2 you know you have to be in great shape. These guys came out in really terrific shape today."

These players are projected as second-round picks or fringe selections. Bluiett, coming off his junior season, is the only player who has not committed to the draft and has until May 24 to decide whether he will return to Xavier.

Johnson, who will graduate from Marquette on Sunday, probably won't hear his name called on draft night (June 22). But knowing that didn't stop the Tennessee native from seizing his opportunity with the Bucks.

"Whatever opportunity comes I'm willing to take it," Johnson said. "At the end of the day, I think they'll still pick the person that works for their program and who is going to help them win. I was directed to come in and help out and got an opportunity."

Johnson's level of effort and intensity impressed the Bucks.

"Jajuan represented himself very well," McKinney added. "I'm sure at some point that we might even have him back in to take another look at him. ...

"He didn't show any signs of nervousness. If he did, I'll tell you what he did, he applied it out on the floor in a very positive manner."

Dorsey, Dotson and Reed all attended the NBA draft combine last week and could be in the mix as second-round picks.

Dorsey is familiar with one current Bucks player.

A 6-foot-4 guard from California who spent two seasons at Oregon before declaring for the draft, Dorsey spent this past summer practicing against Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo while trying to make the Greek national team for the Rio Olympics.

Dorsey, who has dual citizenship with Greece and the United States through his mother, ultimately didn't make the Olympic squad, but he did gain some valuable experience against Antetokounmpo, who has quickly become one of the NBA's top players.

"He's a freak athlete, he's a triple-double threat on the court, so when I got to guard him you've got to be aware of everything; you've got to be prepared," said Dorsey, who has at least 10 more workouts scheduled.

"When he's out open in transition it's hard to guard him. I got to pick up some defensive tips and learn from a great player like that. You can't stop great players, but you can try to slow them down."

Dorsey also shared that he learned a lot from witnessing Antetokounmpo's intense work ethic during the Greek workouts. He got shots up with Antetokounmpo during those practices and picked his brain as often as possible. During the NBA playoffs, Dorsey reached out to Antetokounmpo via text on multiple occasions to wish him well.

Dorsey has drawn NBA interest for his outside shooting — a skill the Bucks are always interested in adding. He averaged 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 41.6% on three-pointers in two seasons at Oregon and helped the Ducks reach the Final Four this past season.

"Tyler Dorsey, a very accomplished player," McKinney said. "His team had a fabulous year this year. He had a terrific year — he had a terrific NCAA Tournament. He played very well in Chicago, he had a great workout here, so he's a guy who is definitely on our radar screen."

Johnson and Dorsey may provide unique cases of players that the Bucks know well, but over the season the Bucks have watched each prospective player and dissected his game.

One of the benefits of these workouts is they get to see the skills of players outside the framework of the college game, where their output can be guided by team needs, coaching styles or schemes that won't affect them in the NBA.

The way a player performs in college might work there, but it doesn't always accurately portray his potential, which is what the Bucks and every other team is trying to project.

"They're able, with these workouts and the Chicago predraft camp, they're able to exhibit the skills they didn't show throughout the year," McKinney said.

"One of the things that we do when we interview the players, too, we ask them, 'Is there a skill that they haven't exhibited, that we haven't seen?' Sometimes they show it as they do during the workouts and sometimes they tell us about it."

Big East battle: During their time in college, Johnson and Bluiett went head-to-head five times as Marquette and Xavier battled yearly in the Big East. They didn't know the other was going to be in attendance for Monday's workout with the Bucks, but that kicked things up an extra notch when they took the court.

"We went against each other for three years straight, so I'm like, what's one more time?" Bluiett said. "It was good; it just kind of rekindled everything, that competition, that competitiveness. ...

"All the guys that were here were going to push me to the best of my abilities, but especially Jajuan just because we've played against each other, so he knows my strengths, my weaknesses on the court as well as I do his. It's good to have somebody like that at a workout."

Johnson shared the same sentiments after the workout, though for him the challenge of going against Bluiett meant something different on Monday than it had in college.

"It was fun because I never got to guard him in college," Johnson said. "It was fun. It was just good competition."