Milwaukee Bucks: John Henson Dominates the Vegas Summer League
The Milwaukee Bucks finally have something to smile about in the 2013 NBA offseason thanks to John Henson. Last year’s 14th overall pick may have been the single best player in the Las Vegas Summer league in 2013.
The baby-faced, 6’11” 22-year-old was a dominant two-way player in the three games he played for Milwaukee in Sin City, averaging 14.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and three blocks and earning a spot on NBA.com’s All-Summer League Team. The former North Carolina Tar Heel controlled the paint, utilizing his incredible 7’6″ wingspan to swat away shots and dominate the glass. Opponents were simply overmatched and had no answer for his combination of his size and athleticism inside. Henson wrapped up his rookie season in 2012-13 playing exceedingly well down the stretch, averaging 9.2 points and 8.9 rebounds in April and pairing with Larry Sanders to give Bucks fans a glimpse of what could be a dominant front line in due time. Despite his play (and to the ire of many in the greater Milwaukee area), former coach Jim Boylan could not find a spot in the postseason rotation for Henson, who barely saw the floor for Milwaukee against the Miami Heat in April. The Bucks, of course, got swept.
Milwaukee assistant coach Bob Bender was selected to coach the Deer in the summer league with new head coach Larry Drew out of town checking out this year’s first round pick, Giannis Antetokoumpo, play for Greece in the Under-20 Championships in Estonia. The new Milwaukee staff has high hopes for Henson as he enters his sophomore season. “It’s a time to showcase and highlight things for John,” Bender said before Summer League play began. “Offensively, we are going to do some things to make sure he has the opportunity to show his improvement and to continue to expand on a role. He’ll be better prepared for it. I think he’s excited to have the opportunity to play a lot of minutes.”
Larry Sanders made a huge leap in his sophomore season for the Milwaukee Bucks, becoming a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Can John Henson do the same? Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com
The idea of a Henson-Sanders front line must have higher ups in the Milwaukee front office salivating. Sanders has already proven he can be an absolute game wrecker on defense, finishing second in the NBA with an average of 2.8 blocks per game. Although raw offensively, Milwaukee’s starting center played well in pick-and-roll sets and shot in excess of 50 percent from the floor for 2012-13. Henson, while still a bit of a work in progress himself offensively, has a bit more polish on that side of the floor than Sanders does right now. At 22, his jumper has shown improvement, but isn’t quite a strength yet. He displayed an ability to convert at a high rate in the restricted area during the Summer League, something that should certainly earn him more minutes for the Bucks, as Milwaukee finished 29th in the NBA in points in the paint last season.
Pundits have consistently pointed out the lack of direction the Milwaukee front office has shown this off-season. And rightfully so. The Bucks drafted as though they were looking to start a total rebuild (bringing in Antetokoumpo, who isn’t close to NBA ready), then elected to go out and overspend on middling free agents such as O.J. Mayo and Zaza Pachulia. But you can’t deny the young talent they have up front. In a league that continues to get smaller, the Bucks now have two super-talented, extremely athletic big men oozing with potential that are both under 25 years old.
Larry Sanders blossomed into a big time, impact player last season.
Expect the same type of leap in 2013-14 for John Henson.