If all had gone according to plan, Bucks' second round pick Jon Leuer would be in the middle of his first NBA training camp right now, fighting for a spot in Scott Skiles' crowded frontcourt rotation and looking forward to the start of the regular season in just a week.
Of course, we all know how that plan is working out.
Thankfully, Leuer apparently didn't have too much faith in the owners and player's union over the summer, opting instead to sign with Frankfurt side Fraport Skyliners--albeit with an NBA out clause. And while toiling in the Bundesliga might not be as useful as quality time with Skiles and the Bucks, it's offering its own education for the 22-year-old Minnesota native.
The good news for Bucks fans is that Leuer has had no shortage of opportunities to work on his game in Germany, earning a starting spot and averaging 33 mpg in his first five league games while leading Frankfurt in rebounding (7.2 rpg, eighth in the league). But his transition has hardly been seamless on the offensive end, which is perhaps a bit surprising given that Leuer's inside-out skillset would seem well-suited to the European game. Through five games he's made just 43% of his two point shots, 2/10 from three and a puzzling 9/19 (47%) from the free throw line--not exactly what you'd expect from a guy who posted a .470/.370/.843 line at Wisconsin last year. He's still posting a superficially respectable 13.0 ppg, which given his poor shooting tells you that he hasn't been particularly bashful about putting shots up.
Frankfurt dropped its third straight this weekend against Ulm, falling to 2-3 on the season and leaving them 13th in the 18-team Beko Bundesliga. Above you can check out their biggest highlight of the season, an 80-78 win over Würzburg two weeks ago that featured a buzzer-beating three from Justin Gray in addition to a fast-break dunk from Leuer late in the game. You can also check out some extended highlights featuring more of Leuer right here.
And in case you're curious: the team is based in Frankfurt and sponsored by Fraport, the company that runs the Frankfurt airport among other things. Hence their official name is "Fraport Skyliners," though you'll hear me call them Frankfurt for brevity's sake.