Projected by many as first-round worthy talent, the Milwaukee Bucks happily selected Doron Lamb in the 2nd-round of the 2012 National Basketball Association draft with the 42nd overall selection.
Lamb was born in Queens, New York and went onto become a McDonald’s All-American. He spent two seasons under the legendary John Calipari at the University of Kentucky, winning a national championship in his sophomore year to cap his time in the ‘Bluegrass State.’
Doron Lamb was an instrumental, yet underrated part of the Wildcat machine. While Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones and Marquis Teague stole the headlines, Lamb went about his business under the radar with a quiet maturity.
Lamb leaves the rich tradition of Kentucky’s basketball program as the leading three-point marksman in school history at 47.5%, knocking down 144-of-303 attempts from beyond the arc. He led the Wildcats with 22 points in Kentucky’s national championship win over Kansas in April.
Financial figures have yet to be disclosed, but Milwaukee has already showed tremendous confidence in the second-round pick by signing him to a three-year deal.
Lamb projects as a shooting guard in the NBA. He possesses legitimate shooting guard size measuring in at 6-5, 210 with a 6-7 wingspan. He can shoot the lights out and gets after it defensively.
With Monta Ellis and Brandon Jenningscemented as the starting backcourt in Milwaukee, Lamb will provide much needed size and depth as the primary backup shooting guard. Lamb should see a fair amount of minutes in this role spelling the diminutive duo. Jennings and Ellis both have the ability to run the point, which should translate into quality floor time for Lamb.
The future of Jennings and Ellis in a Bucks uniform long-term is far from a given, so the opportunity may be there sooner rather than later, for Doron Lamb to seize the starting shooting guard role in Milwaukee long-term.
In the present, the 20-year old Lamb must focus on expanding his game, adapting to life in the NBA, adjusting to coming off the bench and bringing his assassin like three-point accuracy to the Bucks.
If Milwaukee is going to rebound from two consecutive unsatisfying seasons, they are going to need Lamb to stretch defenses with his ability to shoot the rock and to provide size, stability and depth in Milwaukee’s backcourt.
Lamb isn’t a player who demands the spotlight or needs it to flourish and seems to be the type of person who may embrace playing in a small market city like Milwaukee.
For being the 42nd pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, I strongly suspect that Milwaukee Bucks fans won’t be disappointed in the return they get from Doron Lamb.
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