No More Redd Bricks Tireless practice has given Bucks guard Michael Redd a shot

To watch him now, dropping in three-pointer after three-pointer
for the Bucks, one would never guess that for years coaches
grimaced and big men prepared for long rebounds whenever Michael
Redd took aim from deep. "I didn't have too much confidence in my
shot," says Redd, who hit only 31.9% of his tries from behind the
arc as the shooting guard at Ohio State. "My legs would get
tired, and I'd put up line drives. I knew I needed to work on it
to play in the league."

Apparently, so did everyone else. An aggressive slasher during
his three years with the Buckeyes, the 6'6" Redd went 43rd in the
2000 draft because of doubts about his outside touch. At
Milwaukee's training camp coach George Karl, never a man known
for coddling rookies, took Redd aside and made his position
known. "I told him, 'Guards in the NBA need to have a body, and
they have to be able to make threes,'" Karl recalls, "'and until
you've got all that, I'll be ignoring you.'"

Redd got the picture. After appearing in six games, scoring 13
points and missing his three three-point attempts last season, he
spent the summer in the gym at his alma mater, West High, in
Columbus, Ohio. Under the watchful eye of his father, Wes--who has
been encouraging his son to hone his stroke ever since he put a
pink trash can in the hallway and gave two-year-old Michael a
pair of rolled-up socks to heave into it--Redd went to work on his
shot and his conditioning. From 10 a.m. until noon he'd put up
400 to 500 jumpers. After running sprints and getting a bite to
eat, he'd return at 1 p.m. and hoist J's for another hour.
Finally, after weight work, he'd head back at 3 p.m. and fire
away for a half hour more. Slowly but surely the Ichiro-esque
line drives turned into well-arced shots that found the bottom of
the net. "My dad gave me confidence," says Redd. "I got to the
point where I knew I could shoot."

The change has been evident this season. At week's end Redd,
whose intense play in practice won over Karl "about midway
through last season," according to the coach, was averaging 11.0
points in 21.5 minutes and shooting 46.9%, including 43.1% from
three-point range. Redd has also shown a knack for delivering
with the game on the line. He forced a second overtime with a
last-second three in a 129-127 loss to the Knicks on Jan. 26; a
week later he knocked down a triple with eight seconds left to
bring the Bucks to within three against the 76ers, though
Milwaukee bowed 86-81. Such accuracy in the clutch has earned
Redd the respect of his teammates. Ray Allen is a big supporter
(though he notes that Redd finishes his jumper with his hands
down, "like he's a pimp or something"), and Sam Cassell bestows
upon Redd that enviable NBA label, "He's a shooter."

Who would have ever predicted that? "It's crazy," says Redd, who
will be a free agent after this season. "My old coaches tease me
all the time. They're like, 'You are not a shooter!' It's foreign
to me, being called that." He pauses, then smiles and adds, "But
I certainly don't mind it one bit."

--Chris Ballard

COLOR PHOTO: JOHN W. MCDONOUGH