'All here for the same goal': Oshkosh native joins players hoping to impress at Wisconsin Herd tryout
OSHKOSH – The Wisconsin Herd, the NBA G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, held an open tryout Saturday at the 20th Avenue YMCA.
About 75 players had the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of Herd and Bucks basketball operations personnel with the chance to earn an invitation to the Herd’s training camp, which will begin in late October.
Many participants were local players from Oshkosh, Green Bay, Appleton, Lake Geneva, Madison and Milwaukee.
Oshkosh native and North High School alum Blake Marquardt was one of the athletes at the tryout after spending this past basketball season playing overseas in Morocco and the previous two years in Argentina.
“I enjoyed doing this tryout, this is my second time doing it,” Marquardt said. “Just being from Oshkosh it’s kind of cool to see everybody coming from all over the world. I remember last time we had guys from Africa, we had other guys from Europe, and we’re all here for the same goal which makes it special because you can’t do it on your own, so we really feed off of each other. It brings a lot of positive energy and it’s a fun environment. It’s a lot of fun to play here.”
Chaisson Allen, entering his second season as head coach of the Herd, said he was impressed by the number of players who showed up to seize the shot at achieving their dreams of playing professional basketball.
“It was a great turnout, first and foremost,” Allen said. “With all the guys in the gym competing there was a lot of energy. We’re actively looking. We have a few spots to fill in our camp that begins here in a few weeks. We wanted to get some eyes on these guys and give them a fair shot at getting into our camp. I won’t name them, but there were a few guys that stuck out and really have a chance, in my eyes, of making our camp.”
The Herd finished last season 14th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 8-24 after opting to sit out the 2020-21 single-site season along with 11 other teams. The team was in first place in the G League with a 33-10 record during the 2019–20 season and had clinched a playoff spot when the season was shortened by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
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Notable players expected to return for the Herd this season are former G League MVP Frank Mason III and Sandro Mamukelashvili, who is signed to a two-way contract which allows him to switch between the Herd and Bucks roster throughout the season.
On July 25, the Herd obtained the returning player rights to Alex Antetokounmpo and a second-round pick in the 2023 NBA G League Draft in exchange for the returning player rights of Jalen Lecque. Antetokounmpo, the youngest brother of Bucks stars Giannis and Thanasis, most recently played in 23 games with Raptors 905, the NBA G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors.
Allen said the Herd is wrapping up the offseason by focusing on doing everything it can to improve in year two under his direction.
“We just finished the coaching staff, we’re trying to solidify a roster by taking a step forward here today, and then it’s just getting our thoughts together on how we can get better from last year on both ends of the basketball floor,” Allen said.
The Herd opens its fifth season at home against the Windy City Bulls on Nov. 4.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Wisconsin Herd public tryout lets basketball hopefuls chase NBA dream
