Bleacher Report - Articles by Brennan Nett

Milwaukee Brewers: Please Play For The Future

Brennan Nett — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:16:06 -0400

With the 2009 playoffs looking further and further away for the Milwaukee Brewers, I think it's about time they start auditioning for the future. It's hard for me to say that I'm giving up on the season, but it looks more and more bleak as each day passes.

Recently the Brewers have sent struggling shortstop J.J. Hardy to AAA Nashville to free up a roster spot for young shortstop prospect Alcides Escobar. So far through seven games played, he is hitting .318 (7-22) with zero home runs, one run batted in, and zero extra-base hits. In 109 games played for AAA Nashville he was hitting .298 with four home runs, 34 runs batted in, and 30 extra-base hits. At the age of 23 he has a lot of baseball ahead of him, hopefully as an everyday shortstop for the Brewers.

Having already had a brief stint in the majors this season, third basemen super-prospect Mat Gamel should be receiving another call-up in the near future if the team continues to struggle. Having played in 48 games for the Brewers, he was hitting .239 (27-113) with four home runs, 16 runs batted in, and six extra-base hits.

Other prospects that are seeing time in the majors right now are outfielder Jason Bourgeois, infielders Hernan Iribarren, and Casey McGehee. McGehee being an exception has seen regular time at third base since the demotion of Mat Gamel.

Players that should be receiving a call-up once the calendar turns to September are catcher Angel Salome, third basemen Mat Gamel, and first basemen Joe Koshansky.

Being 10.5 games out of first place in the Central Division, going into today's contest with the Washington Nationals, the chances of them winning the division are all but gone. Also, being 9.5 games out starting today in the Wild Card race, it makes perfect sense to me to start playing for the future and seeing what they have moving foward into next season and years beyond.

Chris Andersen: "It's Time For The Birdman To Fly"

Brennan Nett — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:59:16 -0400

July 8, 2009, could be one of the happiest days of Chris Birdman Andersen's young life, he was resigned by the Denver Nuggets to a five-year deal that could worth as much as $26 million dollars. The high-flying Birdman just completed one of his best seasons of his NBA career. Finishing second in blocks with 175, finishing behind Orlando's Dwight Howard, who amassed 231 blocks.

The 6'10'' 228 pound power foward was born on July 7, 1978 in Long Beach, California. He attended Iola High School in Iola, Texas. After graduation he attended Blinn College, playing one season, and then going undrafted in the 1999 NBA Draft. He began his professional career in the Chinese Basketball League for the Jiangsu Nangang. He then played two seasons in the D-League before playing for the Denver Nuggets from 2001-2004, the New Orleans Hornets from 2004-2006, and then again with the Denver Nuggets in the 2008-2009 season.

On January 25, 2006, he served a two year league suspension for the violation of the league's anti-drug policy. Andersen attempted to appeal the suspension through arbitration, but was denied in March of 2006. On March 25, 2008 his professional career resumed playing for the New Orleans Hornets, after his March 4th reinstatement by the NBA Players Association.

After the conclusion of the 2007-2008 season with the Hornets, he became a free agent, signing a one-year contract with the Denver Nuggets. Playing only 20.5 minutes per game, he compiled 175 blocks or 2.42 blocks per game.

His career averages are averaging 5.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 17.3 minutes per game. He has appeared in 329 games, nine of which have been starts.

The Birdman could be seen as a role model for his return to the NBA after his recent drug suspension because it shows that hardwork and determination can lead to the completion of a goal. His goal obviously being the return to "Fly" again in the NBA.

Marquette Basketball: A Very Bright Future

Brennan Nett — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:09:54 -0400

The 2008-2009 NCAA Basketball season had its fair share of ups and downs for the Marquette Golden Eagles. Now that seniors Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews, Dominic James, and Dwight Burke have graduated, there is a lot of open playing time to be won by several players. Coach Buzz Williams, in his first season as the Golden Eagles head coach, compiled a 25-10 overall record and a 12-6 conference record, has shown that he is suitable D-1 basketball coach.

Coach Williams' recruiting class for the upcoming season is very deep. Players included in that class are former Madison Memorial standout Jeronne Maymon, a talented 6'6'' forward, who is expected to step into a four-year starting role and help replace the void left by Wesley Matthews.

With the graduation of Dominic James and the decision by Maurice Acker to not return for his senior season, there is a big opening for incoming freshman point guard Junior Cadougan of Humble, Texas to fill. The 5'11'' point guard is drawing comparisons to Dominic James in size, but is thought to be more durable due to his heavier weight.

After his stellar four-year career at Marquette, Jerel McNeal will be a tough spot to replace, ranking first in career scoring at Marquette, but 6'6'' foward Erik Williams hopes to fill the role. Williams,from Cypress, Texas, is a talented foward who ranks 21st amongst all small fowards in the 2009 recruiting class.

Rounding out a very solid recruiting class that not only adds depth to a very solid group of returning players from this past year's team, is 7'2'' center Youssoupha Mbao. Mbao played his prep basketball at Stone Ridge Prep High School in Merced, California. Other players include: Darius Johnson-Odom, Dwight Buycks, and Brett Rosebaro.

My prediction for the upcoming season will all depend on the how well the incoming class can adapt to the furious pace of the Big East. If the players can mesh well with the returning players, they could hit the ground running or hit the ground and stumble. My prediction will be about another fourth to fifth-place showing for this extremely young and talented Marquette squad. The future of Maquette Basketball is looking very bright with the hopes of another deep run into the upcoming NCAA Tournaments.

Remember folks, We Are Marquette.

Milwaukee Bucks: What Are You Doing?

Brennan Nett — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:22:33 -0400

This off-season has been one to remember for the entire NBA, whether your team is getting better or worse. Several title-contending teams have made moves to bolster their line-ups: Cleveland adding 17 year veteran Shaquille O'Neal, Orlando adding 8-Time All-Star Vince Carter, and the San Antonio Spurs adding versatile swing-man Richard Jefferson.

With those players departing, several teams now have huge voids to fill, including my team the Milwaukee Bucks. Not only have they dealt Richard Jefferson, but they did not even make an attempt to resign versatile power foward Charlie Villanueva. The 6'11'' foward will be greatly missed for his scoring ability, which was at a career best 16.2 points per game last season, but his 6.7 rebounds per game will also be missed.

Looking at the Richard Jefferson deal it made me think that John Hammond is starting to turn this franchise around, but after seeing him let go of Charlie made me think otherwise. Sure, current head coach Scott Skiles is a defensive minded coach, and Charlie has been known for his lackluster defense at times but still where are you going to find a player of Charlie's caliber to replace him?

With a slew of injuries that have plagued Bucks starters Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut over the past few seasons, several questions have yet to be answered by the Bucks' front office. My first question is, when are the Bucks going to unload the huge contract of Michael Redd, even though it only has one year left? It would be nice to see the Bucks get something in return for a player of Redd's caliber.

The next question is what were the Bucks thinking when drafting former high school star turned European bench player Brandon Jennings? Sure, I like the pick of Jennings, but the Bucks already have several viable options at point guard including Luke Ridnour and free agent Ramon Sessions.

It looks to me that Sessions will be continuing his career in another city, and I wish him luck, he has shown a lot of promise in the past two seasons in Milwaukee.

The last question left to be answered is when are the Bucks going to add an additional big man that can compliment Andrew Bogut? The past several seasons the Bucks frontline has been non-existent. Bogut who is a true power foward, likes to step away and face the basket, he can knock down a 15-foot jumpshot regularly, and can pass with the best of the bigs in the NBA. He is missing that front-court partner that can play with his back to the basket.

This next season is looking bleak for the Milwaukee Bucks, but the future is looking to hold lots of promise if GM John Hammond continues to surround Coach Skiles with the proper players he enjoys to coach.