Kulning the Herd: A Much Needed Break

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.

Not a whole lot of off-court news out of Oshkosh this week, but with the Milwaukee Bucks spending the weekend in Florida, the parent club’s style decided to head north on Saturday night and support the Herd.

The Herd broke out their own version of the Bucks’ “Fear the Deer” alternates that most of us love. Personally, I think the jerseys would be enhanced by eliminating the the cream/gold background and “Wisconsin Herd” moniker. Just go with nothing but three deer heads like how the Bucks only have the singular deer head without any background or moniker.

As I’m sure you are aware, this week is All-Star week for the NBA and the G-League is getting in on the action. The top G-League players will take the court against the Mexican international team on Sunday the 18th before the All-Star Game. Unfortunately, no one from the Herd will be representing. The exhibition will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center which is down the road from the Staples Center.

That’s it for the off-court action (I told you it was a light news week). So let’s see how the Herd did before they head into the All-Star break.

Wednesday, February 7th @ Lakeland Magic (Orlando Magic)

The Herd blazed the Central Florida path for the Bucks a few days early, but unlike the Bucks, the Herd went home empty handed. Wisconsin converted on 48 percent of their three-pointers (14/29) but still came up short 119-100. D.J. Wilson continued his run with the Herd and he put up 14 points and a -41 net rating, sheesh.

Ricky Ledo led the way for the Herd with 22 points on 40 percent shooting from the field, and 40 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Two-way big man, Marshall Plumlee, came off the bench and pitched in six points along with 12 rebounds in 24 minutes of game time.

Friday, February 9th vs. Grand Rapids Drive (Detroit Pistons)

The Herd entered Friday night’s contest in desperate need of a win to help stabilize their position in the division and conference standings. Unfortunately, they could not pull off the Friday night home victory against their division rival, losing 102-78. Wisconsin held a 15 point lead after the first quarter but surrendered 41 second quarter points and never recovered.

D.J. Wilson was able to muster only eight points, but corralled a game-high 15 rebounds before he got recalled to the Bucks’ roster. James Blackmon Jr. led the Herd in scoring with 18 points on 4/9 shooting from three-point range. Former member of the Herd and University of Wisconsin alum, Bronson Koenig, came off the bench for Grand Rapids and scored 17 points on 50 percent shooting from the field.

Saturday, February 10th vs. Long Island Nets (Brooklyn Nets)

The hits just kept coming for Wisconsin. The Herd needed a big showing in their home back-to-back weekend, but lost 120-111 to the Nets. JeQuan Lewis tallied a game-high 32 points all while coming off the bench. The VCU alum went 11/21 from the field and added five rebounds and four assists to his ledger.

All five starters for the Herd scored in double figures, with James Blackmon Jr leading the way with 24 points. Wisconsin trailed Long Island all night and were unable to string together enough defensive stop down the stretch to complete the fourth quarter comeback. The Herd were without their two-way guys, Marshall Plumlee and Xavier Munford, as well as Joel Bolomboy and Cliff Alexander. The latter duo did not suit up at all this past week due to rehabbing injuries.

The Herd will be off this week as they join the NBA in having a spring break type of deal for mid-late February. So no predictions other than everyone will have fun, be safe, and ready to rumble down the home stretch.

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 the next week of the Herd’s inaugural season.