Bucks’ Newest Face
Bucks’ newest face still working out rust in his game
by Steve Aschburner
NBA.com
January 26, 2010 — Three or four players and a few civilians were left in the Milwaukee Bucks’ locker room late Saturday night when the relative quiet was pierced by the sound of someone going all “American Idol” in the shower. Turns out, it was Jerry Stackhouse’s baritone echoing off the tile and down the hall, singing a tune no one instantly recognized but making known his presence that began with Milwaukee just five days earlier.
Bucks guard Jerry Stackhouse is still shaking off the rust after his long NBA layoff. Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images
Eager to fill the void created by shooting guard Michael Redd’s latest season-ending knee injury, seeking to replace some of the scoring and experience that Redd provided, the Bucks reached out to Stackhouse. Never mind that the long-ago North Carolina star had played in just 10 NBA games since the end of 2007-08 and none at all this season in what was looking more like a forced and endless furlough than any official retirement. The Bucks knew Stackhouse — general manager John Hammond had been with him in Detroit, coach Scott Skiles actually played with him for a season in Philadelphia — and felt he had something left in his tank.
So if that had been a rookie crooning away in the shower, the grinning folks in the locker room might have thought: Knuckleheaded new guy. But since it was a warhorse drafted nearly 15 years ago, taken No. 3 overall in 1995 ahead of fellow All-Stars Rasheed Wallace, Kevin Garnett and Michael Finley, Stackhouse’s little audience could nod knowingly at his not-quite dulcet tones and think: Savvy veteran influence, keeping things loose.
I talked with Stackhouse Saturday before and after he blew out the carbon of nearly 1 1/2 seasons of inactivity in his new team’s 127-94 cruise past Minnesota. In 28 minutes, playing in his third game in four nights, Stackhouse scored 14 points with three rebounds, five assists, two steals and four turnovers. Next stop: Dallas, where he spent five of his best NBA seasons but was dumped in a trade last summer to Memphis, a team that waived him almost immediately.
Click here to read the full article and interview with Stack at NBA.com.
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