John Henson Is Primed to Flourish in a Milwaukee Bucks Uniform.

As of Thursday, reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year John Henson made it official, inking his rookie contract as a Milwaukee Buck.

It was reportedly worth just under 4 million dollars guaranteed over his first two seasons, seeing about 1.8 million of that total in year one. The deal also has Milwaukee holding options for years three and four under this mandatory rookie deal.

One interesting point, under the NBA’s new collective bargaining  agreement all first round picks fall under a specific salary regardless of what they are worth. Teams cannot exceed that slotted salary by more than 20 percent.

Henson flew to Milwaukee shortly after being drafted and by all accounts hasn’t stopped working since he landed at Mitchell International Airport. His workouts in Brew City have been in prep for his Pro debut coming up in Las Vegas. The former UNC Tar Heel will suit up for the first time as a Milwaukee Buck in the NBA Summer League.

Unfortunately, with the addition of Anthony Davis to the USA Mens Olympic roster,( and Henson not playing in Milwaukee’s first game) we did not get to see the highly anticipated Summer League match up of the two.

Yes, I said highly anticipated Summer League match-up!

The Bucks will play again Wednesday at 4 PM on NBA TV with a match-up against the Washington Wizards. Hopefully this will be the first site of Henson as a Buck. If so he will see a familiar face and match-up against second year man Chris Singleton out of Florida State. Both have battled one another previously in heated conference match-ups part of the ACC.

Monday (and Wednesday, depending on when you can watch) will be the first glimpse Milwaukee Fans will see into the potential of John Henson. As most NBA GM’s continued to say leading to the draft, Henson offensively hasn’t even scratched the surface, and as for defense, we all know what the 6’10” athlete can do. He didn’t leave Chapel Hill as their all-time leader in Blocks Per Game because of misprints. Defensively Henson has the ability to push Milwaukee back into contention in that middle tier of the Eastern Conference.

With the addition of Monte Ellis and Ekpe Udoh last season, and the resigning of Ersan Illyasova, the Bucks have some pieces in place to be successful for years to come. Ellis isn’t going anywhere for two seasons if the Bucks can play well. Combined Brandon Jennings, Mike Dunleavy, and the addition of Samuel Dalembert via draft day trade, selecting John Henson at 14 overall only made Milwaukee even more dangerous defensively. It had to also make Scott Skiles feel a little better heading into the 2012-13 NBA Season. Drew Gooden, Larry Sanders, and Luc Mbah A Moute are all returning as well, giving Skiles a little more depth in the front-court.

That being said, not one of these previously mentioned front-court players in my eyes deserve more minutes than someone like Henson who will need time on the court to develop to what Milwaukee needs and wants. Fortunately for the Bucks they already have a guy sitting on the bench that can be a constant reminder of what they don’t want to happen to John Henson, and his name is Larry Sanders. (Not taking anything away from Sanders who is a hell of an athlete and player in his own rite)

Anyway you flip it, John Henson landing just off of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin may set him up for a lengthy successful NBA career. Look at it this way, Henson could have landed somewhere he was needed in more ways than one. Trying to stretch offensively, maybe putting too much on his plate in the beginning would set him back. Instead he lands somewhere he is needed more defensively. He can come in and play around the rim like his entire college career. He doesn’t have to worry about trying to score 15 a game and grab 10 rebounds. His success in Milwaukee will be measured similar to his Freshman year at UNC. They know what to expect but I’m confident Henson will once again overachieve.