Kulning the Herd: On the Road Again

Welcome to “Kulning the Herd,” our weekly recap and preview of everything going on with the Milwaukee Bucks’ G-League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. What is kulning exactly? It’s an old Scandinavian herding call/song form. Take a listen to a small sample here.

Another week, another member of the Wisconsin Herd earning G-League accolades. First it was Xavier Munford, this time it is James Young named Performer of the Week.

Due to arena construction, the Herd will end up playing their first three home games in Milwaukee at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, but we have a positive area update from Oshkosh.

The finishing touches are being put on the Menominee Nation Arena as it gets ready to open its doors this Friday night! Before we get to this week, let’s look back at what the Herd did with their two game road trip in the Eastern Time Zone.

Tuesday, November 21st @ Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia 76ers)

After being named G-League Performer of the Week, James Young continued to ball out against the 87ers. Young scored 41 points in the 119-111 victory in Newark, Delaware.

Young shot 9/11 from three-point range and 12/16 from the field overall. The former first round pick has been a scoring dynamo and is proving to be head and shoulders above his G-League competition. Herd forward, Kyle Casey, trailed Young in the scoring department with 15 points while also corralling seven rebounds. JeQuan Lewis posted a double-double with 14 points and dishing out 10 assists. The point guard from VCU has been a fantastic facilitator for the Herd all season long.

Saturday, November 25th @ Lakeland Magic (Orlando Magic)

Unfortunately the Herd’s winning ways and on fire shooting came to a screeching halt in Florida. Lakeland got the best of the Herd as Wisconsin dropped a close 109-104 contest.

James Young contributed 17 points on an ice cold five of 19 shooting night, including three of 14 from three-point range. Cliff Alexander lead the way for the Herd as he collected a double-double while scoring a team high 18 points and collecting a game high 12 rebounds. In a game where nothing seemed to go the Herd’s way they still managed to make this a close contest against a quality opponent. Coach Brady is doing a heck of a job getting the most out of his guys night in and night out.

Another two game week upcoming for the Herd, with both games being home games, but played in two different arenas. Menominee Nation Arena opens for business on Friday night. The games can be heard on 99.1FM in Oshkosh and 95.3FM in the Fox Cities and seen on Facebook Live. So let’s dive into this week’s upcoming Herd action.

Tuesday, November 28th vs. Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Indiana Pacers)

The Mad Ants and Herd sit atop the Central Division standings and this one figures to be a good battle for both teams. The Herd will say good-bye to the Bradley Center after this game and what a match-up to leave Milwaukee with. I think the Herd will get this one done and move a half game up on the Mad Ants (great name by the way) in the division standings.

Friday, December 1st vs. Iowa Wolves (Minnesota Timberwolves)

The Menominee Nation Arena opens its doors for the first time and the team from Des Moines, Iowa will be the first guests. The Wolves are last in their division and I think the Herd will come away with this one based solely on the energy that opening a brand new arena brings. With the Herd off to a fantastic start I would expect the new digs to be packed.

I had the Herd going 1-1 last week and they did not prove me wrong. This week I have the Herd the taking both home games against Mid-Western foes and coming out of the week with an 8-2 overall record.

Any predictions of your own? General comments or questions about the Herd, or even the G-League? Share them in the comments below and stop by next week as we recap the games above and look forward to week number four of the Herd’s inaugural season.