Well-traveled DeAndre Liggins brings defensive grit and energy to Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks guard DeAndre Liggins was finishing his freshman year at the University of Kentucky when John Calipari took over as coach in April 2009. With Calipari came the first of many heralded basketball recruiting classes, filled with one-and-done talent including John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe.

He may have been a sophomore, but Liggins didn't have a leg up on Wall or Bledsoe. He needed to prove himself every day and Calipari asked him to do that by harassing the hyped freshman backcourt every chance he got.

Regardless of who took the ball up the court in practice, Liggins hawked them from baseline to baseline. He got in their faces, deflected passes, took charges and generally played the pest role to perfection.

“It was battles every day," Liggins said, specifically referring to going against Bledsoe, now his teammate with the Bucks. "Coach Cal told me to pick him up fullcourt like I do now every practice and make him better and that’s what I did. ...

“It irritated (Bledsoe) a lot. He wanted to fight me at times, but I had to do my job to earn minutes so that’s what I had to do.”

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Liggins' effort paid off as he became a rotation player for the Wildcats, who went 35-3 and ultimately fell in the Elite Eight. The next year with Bledsoe and Wall in the NBA, he logged the second-most minutes on the team and earned a spot on the all-East Region team during Kentucky's Final Four run.

Since then, Liggins has taken the long road to Milwaukee.

He played 119 games for five NBA teams between 2011 and 2017 as well as 95 G League games for two teams and also spent time playing in Russia and Germany. This off-season, his contract was held by five different teams before the Bucks claimed him off waivers Oct. 16.

Bledsoe said the Liggins that people are starting to get to know in Milwaukee is the same guy he's always been.

"He's one of those guys that takes challenges, especially on the defensive end, trying to stop the best player on the team," Bledsoe said. "He gives effort every single play. No matter if the (offense) scores on him, it's a tough bucket."

Liggins' numbers — 2.5 points, 0.9 rebounds, 0.5 steals in 12.8 minutes per game — don't jump off the stat sheet. But anyone who watches him — particularly his 20 minutes of high-energy, ball-hawking defense against the Pistons on Wednesday — knows the impact he's had on the Bucks.

In the words of Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon, "He's a dog."

Liggins, a two-time G League defensive player of the year in 2014 and 2016, all about defense. He enjoys pestering his opponent, deflecting passes, blocking shots and diving for loose balls. As someone whose first objective is to provide energy off the bench, Liggins is meeting his obligation when he gets his teammates as well as the BMO Harris Bradley Center crowd riled up with a fist pump after coaxing an illegal screen or claps his hands after drawing a charge.

Doing the little, gritty things is what's gotten him opportunities in the NBA and he takes pride in playing that role.

“Everybody can score in this league, everybody don’t want to play defense," Liggins said.  "That’s what I get paid for. I’m not looked at as a scorer. I can shoot the ball — my shot has improved — but my job first is to bring energy, do all the intangibles, take charges, get the 50/50 balls and that’s what I’m going to continue to hang my hat on.”

Among the intangible skills Liggins brings is his ability to evade screens. Try as they might, opponents have difficulty catching him cleanly, often hardly throwing him off his stride as he snakes his way around.

While Liggins' lithe, 6-foot-6, 209-pound frame helps when it comes to eluding screens, it's a skill he's honed in practice working with assistant coach Joe Prunty. 

“I always hang my hat on not getting screened, fighting through screens," Liggins said. "It’s like a football technique. When you do the drills with the pads and they hit you, you’ve got to take it. … Don’t get screened."

Avoiding screens goes a long way in shoring up any defense. When a guard does that, especially in a pick-and-roll situation, he relieves his teammate from having to decide between stopping the ball-handler or the roll man.

Center Thon Maker, who often plays with Liggins as part of the second unit, sees the difference that Liggins' effort and elusiveness makes.

"It's very helpful," Maker said. "He's tough. Even when he gets hit in the screens he'll still chase and try to recover. He really good at getting skinny and avoiding the screens and that's very big. It's a small thing, but it's very big."

As well as he's playing as part of a revitalized Bucks defense that is aiming for its fifth straight win in Dallas on Saturday night, Liggins is his own toughest critic. He's visibly frustrated any time his man scores against him, regardless of whether the fault lies with him or not.

“I don’t like to get scored on no matter what," Liggins said. "Helping a guy then coming back to my man and my man hits a three – I’ve got to do both. That’s what I’ve got to a better job on, just working the floor and getting out to my man and making sure he don’t score or touch the paint.”

That mentality has been with Liggins for as long as Bledsoe can remember, from their days at Kentucky through Liggins' quixotic journey through professional basketball. Liggins has never found a permanent home but is starting to carve out a niche with the Bucks thanks to his endless motor and defensive toughness.

"DeAndre was in a position where he never gave up on what he wanted to accomplish," Bledsoe said. "Now he's here and he's going to stick here and be here for a while. You can't do nothing but, like I said, love the guy."