Trevon Hughes didn't have to travel far for his first steps into the NBA waters. Hughes was one of 12 NBA-eligible players invited to the Milwaukee Bucks first pre-draft workout at the Bucks Training Center Monday.

Hughes and the other prospects were put through several drills as well as live action competitive situations in front of scouts and Bucks executives.

"I think it went pretty well," Hughes told reporters after the session. "We ran up and down. We played one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three with some shooting drills. I felt good about it."

Other notable invitees to the Bucks' pre-draft workout included: Craig Brackins (Iowa State), Jerome Randle (Cal), Samardo Samuels (Louisville), Derrick Caracter (UTEP), Trevor Booker (Clemson) and Jerry Smith (Louisville).

When asked about the prospects of potentially staying in Wisconsin for his professional career, Hughes admitted that it would be a great fit.

"I went to high school out here. I went to college out here. The best way to end it is to stay, right?"

Hughes also said Monday that he has three more workouts scheduled with NBA teams and more could follow. The NBA draft is June 24.

Coincidentally, former Badger Kirk Penney was also in attendance Monday as he is using the Bucks facility to train. Here are the comments Hughes and Bucks Assistant General Manager Jeff Weltman after the workout:

Jeff Weltman - Assistant General Manager

On Trevon Hughes...
"Trevon worked really hard today and we were happy to have him in as a local kid in our first visit. We thought that was good for him and good for us. He'll get his chance to show his talents to a lot of teams because he's a very competitive player."
 
On the positives about Hughes...
"We like his toughness and competitiveness and he got better every year and he's a winner. We were eager to have him in and he's a guy we've liked for a while."
 
Trevon Hughes

On the workout...
"I didn't know what to expect. That's what I was anxious for, to come in here and show them what I've got."
 
On how the session went...
"I think it went pretty well. We ran up and down. We played one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three with some shooting drills. I felt good about it."
 
On his expectations...
"I don't have any expectations. I just want to workout to the best of my ability, show them my athleticism and take it from there."
 
On how many workouts he has planned...
"I have about three more right now that are scheduled. More to come, I'm pretty sure. Right now it's a dead-week with the NBA pre-draft camp coming up on Wednesday."
 
On what he needs to work on...
"Developing a more consistent jump shot. I can shoot it but the (3-point) line is further back. (I'll) keep working out there and make better decisions offensively and in the one-on-one game, because it's not like high school and college anymore. There's more one-on-one in the NBA."
 
On how his experience with Wisconsin prepared him for the next level...
"Playing at Wisconsin taught me how to play a slow-paced game in a half-court, offensive setting, ball screens and getting everyone involved. (Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan) was big on that because he was a guard in college."
 
On if he wants to be a Buck...
"Definitely. I went to high school out here. I went to college out here. The best way to end it is to stay, right?"
 
On how much his intangibles help...
"Just being vocal out here (helps). Everybody is competing with one another but at the same time everybody wants some feedback so they can get through the workout. So when you see somebody struggling, be that vocal leader. Or sometimes lead by example, be the first one." 

The Denver Nuggets have signed former Badger Brian Butch, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced over the weekend.

Butch (6-11, 240) averaged 17.7 ppg and 11.9 rpg in 39 games for the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League this season. The Wisconsin product also was named MVP of the 2010 NBDL All-Star game after scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

A native of Appleton, Wis., Butch earned consensus first-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior in 2008. For his career, he is one of just eight players in UW history with at least 1,000 points and 600 rebounds. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, he earned his undergraduate degree from UW in May of 2007.

Read Brian's final blog entry from his stint in the D-League

Wisconsin now has three players in the NBA, including Michael Finley (Celtics) and Devin Harris (Nets). Marcus Landry was waived by the Boston Celtics, just four days after being re-signed on April 5th.

Fresh off an impressive showing (12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 0 turnovers) in the College All-Star Game at the Final Four, Wisconsin senior Trevon Hughes is on to the next round of NBA auditions.

Hughes left Madison on Tuesday to compete in front of NBA scouts at the 2010 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (P.I.T.). Each year for 57 years the P.I.T has invited 64 of the best college basketball seniors from across the nation to participate in a four-day, twelve-game tournament in front of representatives from every NBA team.

Hughes and Team K&D Rounds Landscaping will begin their tournament schedule Wednesday at 8 p.m. (CT).  Hughes is teamed with, among others: Ryan Wittman (Cornell), Deon Thompson (North Carolina), Jason Love (Xavier) and Donald Sloan (Texas A&M). Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan has familiarity with Thompson, having coached him last summer in the World University Games.

Hughes is one of just four Big Ten players invited to the P.I.T., including Raymar Morgan (Michigan State), DeShawn Sims (Michigan) and Lawrence Westbrook (Minnesota). Hughes also joins fellow Wisconsin alums who have recently competed in the P.I.T. like Marcus Landry (2009), Brian Butch (2008), Kammron Taylor (2007) and Kirk Penney (2003).

In just four games with the NBA Development League's Sioux Falls Sky Force, Kirk Penney is feeling right at home. The former Badger star and New Zealand standout is averaging 23.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists thus far. Penney is also shooting .583 from the field and a scorching .529 (9-of-17) from 3-point range.

Penney scored 31 points in his second game with the Sky Force, a 113-104 win over Springfield on March 27. The 6-5 guard then topped that effort with a 40-point performance in a 123-110 win over Bakersfield on April 2. Penney played 44 minutes in that game, connecting on 16 of 23 shots, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. He also added eight rebounds and two assists in the win.

The Sky Force (32-18) are 4-0 since Penney joined former Badgers Greg Stiemsma and Joe Krabbenhoft on the roster.

Kirk Penney NBDL highlights

Wisconsin senior Trevon Hughes scored 12 points and was one of six players in double figures as the Reese's College All-Stars topped the Hershey's College All-Stars, 106-101, in the Reese's College Senior All-Star Game Friday night before a crowd of 10,103 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Complete Box Score

Coach Gene Keady's Reese's All-Stars trailed by one at the half, 58-57, but had balanced scoring in the contest. Hughes started and played 21 minutes making 5-of-13 shots while pulling down six rebounds, dishing out four assists with a block and a steal.

The game, conducted by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), is played annually during the NCAA Final Four.  Cal's Jerome Randle, who scored 12 points with seven assists, was selected as the most outstanding player for Reese's.

Fellow Badger senior Jason Bohannon competed in the 22nd-annual State Farm College 3-Point Championship on Thursday. Bohannon would knock down 19 triples in round one to advance to the semifinals, but his second-round total of 15 was not enough to reach the final pairing.

Former Wisconsin standout Marcus Landry was recalled by the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Landry, who was traded from the Knicks to the Celtics on Feb. 18, had most recently spent a month with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League.

In 13 games with the Red Claws, Landry averaged 11.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, highlighted by a 34-point night that included eight 3-pointers on March 21.

In 18 NBA games with the Knicks and Celtics, Landry has averaged 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds. He posted a career-high 8 points vs. Indiana (1/3/10) and career-high 4 rebounds vs. Dallas (1/24/10).

Landry now joins fellow former Badger Michael Finley on the Celtics roster. Finley, a 14-year NBA veteran who signed with Boston in March, has appeared in 15 games with Boston 4.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

The Badgers' 2009-10 season may still be warm, but it's never too early to start looking at next season is it? With that in mind, congratulations go out to Wisconsin's Class of 2010 signee Josh Gasser (pronounced GAH-ser), who was named the 2010 Gatorade Wisconsin boys basketball player of the year.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Gasser as Wisconsin's best high school boys basketball player.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior point guard led the Pirates (19-5) to the Division 2 state tournament regional finals this past season, averaging 23.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.7 steals per game. A returning Division 2 First Team All-State selection as named by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association, Gasser shot 50.3 percent from the field and 84.5 percent from the free-throw line this winter. Also a 2010 McDonald's High School All-American Game selection committee nominee, he averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds and three assists as a junior.

Gasser has maintained a 3.58 GPA in the classroom. In addition to donating his time on behalf of the Special Olympics and as a youth basketball instructor, he has volunteered as part of an elementary school literacy-outreach program, a grounds-keeping effort at a local nature preserve and a holiday gift-giving campaign for underprivileged children.

Gasser is joined in UW's Class of 2010 by 6-foot-11 center Evan Anderson (Eau Claire, Wis.) and 6-foot-8 forward Duje Dukan (Deerfield, Ill.).

Complete Signing day story with bios of the Class of 2010

Former Wisconsin legend Kirk Penney is back in the United States trying to crack an NBA roster for the stretch run. After completing another successful season for the New Zealand Breakers, Penney recently signed with the Sioux Falls Sky Force of the NBA D-League. He is scheduled to make his debut Friday night vs. the Springfield Armor.

After earning back-to-back first-team All-Big Ten honors at Wisconsin, Penney had brief stints with the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat before spending five seasons playing overseas in Europe and his native country New Zealand.

In signing with the Sky Force, Penney joins former Badgers Greg Stiemsma and Joe Krabbenhoft on the roster. Tanner Bronson also serves as an assistant coach for Sioux Falls.

Sioux Falls coach Tony Fritz told the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader:

"We have great leadership on this team, and to add a guy that's played internationally and can come into a nice role can only benefit you," Fritz said, adding that Penney's ability to shoot at a high percentage should open up the offense.

"We need someone who can really stretch the floor for us, so guys like Greg (Stiemsma), Ray (Sykes) and (Alexander Johnson) can dominate the middle like they have been."

Added Penney on his new home: "This team has already established itself. I'll just try to fit in where I can and enjoy being on what seems to be a great team with great guys."

Krabbenhoft, who returned to the Sky Force after playing in Korea, is averaging 12.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Stiemsma, who has started 40 of 41 games, is averaging 8.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and a team-high 3.5 blocks.

Elsewhere in the NBDL, Marcus Landry has been turning heads since being optioned from the Boston Celtics to the Maine Red Claws. In nine games with Maine, Landry is averaging 11.6 points per game, highlighted by a 34-point night that included eight 3-pointers on March 21.

Brian Butch continues to post some of the league's top numbers, averaging 18.0 points and 11.6 rebounds per game for the Bakersfield Jam. In a 120-109 win over the Tulsa 66ers on Thursday, Butch posted game-highs with 33 points and 15 rebounds.

Butch is also keeping his daily blog on BigTenNetwork.com that is worth a read.

After the success of the first round's 'Field of 64', @BadgerMBBall is back at it with the 'Field of 32' for round two. Leading up to Sunday's NCAA tournament game between No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 12 Cornell, @BadgerMBBall sent out 32 Tweets with observations and commentary from the Badgers' stay in Jacksonville. Follow along to get them in real time (http://twitter.com/BadgerMBBall).

If you're not a follower, here's what you missed...

1. Tip-off Wisconsin vs. Cornell!

2. Hard to tell the difference between the Cornell and Wisconsin sections today ... lots of red in the building

3. Philly connections all over the place in Jax ... Bo Ryan and Cornell coach Steve Donahue grew up 15 yrs & 10 mi apart

4. Game officials for today: Anthony Greene, Scott Thornley, Mike Kitts

5. Starting lineup for Wisconsin: G Trevon Hughes, G Jordan Taylor, G Jason Bohannon, F Keaton Nankivil, F Jon Leuer

6. Starting lineup for Cornell: G Louis Dale, G Chris Wroblewski, F Ryan Wittman, F Jon Jaques, C Jeff Foote

7. During the national anthem, Cornell's cheering section yells out loud when the word "Red!" comes up

8. The UW band just finished up the national anthem ... best version of the Star Spangled Banner yet in Jacksonville

9. Family affair today with Leuer, Taylor, Jarmusz, Nankivil & Bohannon families in the seats to take in the game

Join Bo Ryan and the entire Wisconsin men's basketball team tonight at the Great Dane Hilldale (357 Price Place) for the final Bo Ryan radio show of the season. Admission as always is free and the show begins at 7 p.m.

Alongside hosts Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas, Ryan will recap the season including the Badgers' postseason run to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Ryan's show is broadcast statewide on the Wisconsin Radio Network. Here is a complete list of local stationscarrying the program.

Stop out and show your support for the team after another great season.