OK, it wasn't the most exciting Bucks draft I've attended -- but the Bucks found a solid player in North Carolina's David Noel with the 39th overall pick in the second round. "He gives us what we were looking for in the draft," Bucks coach Terry Stotts said. "An athletic wing player. We have a hole at that position and he'll have an opportunity to earn some minutes."
 
Just as the draft was starting, a Bucks draft room source told me the team would be delighted if Noel was available at No. 39. He was among a group of similar players that they liked and targeted. The Bucks expected Cincinnati's James White to be gone and he was. He went 31st. Washington's Bobby Jones would have gotten a serious look from the Bucks, but he was taken at number 37.
 
There will be inevitable comparisons between Noel and former Bucks star Desmond Mason. Noel is a good character guy, slam dunk champion and an athletic specimen. But Noel's range of experience makes for an even more impressive college resume. Noel was a role player off the bench on the 2005 national championship team at North Carolina. Then he had to reinvent himself as a senior leader and starter on a very young but talented Tar Heels team.
 
Noel is not going to be complaining about a "lack of touches," because he knows how essential the unselfish dirty work is for a winning team. He doesn't need to be a star to be a success with the Bucks. "He has the ability to be a very good defender," said Stotts. It's hard not to notice that winning teams seem to have what Al McGuire called "glue guys". They aren't flashy, but they make the team work as a unit. Udonis Haslem in Miami, Adrian Griffin in Dallas and Bruce Bowen in San Antonio come to mind. Noel could eventually be one of those types.
 
It's hard to believe, but Noel is only the third player that the Bucks have ever drafted from the storied North Carolina program. Neither eighth-rounder Tom Zaliageris in 1978 nor Kohler native Jeff Wolf, a 4th round selection in 1980, made the Bucks' roster. There have been seven former Tar Heels who have played for the Bucks through the years. Phil Ford heads a list that also includes Joe Wolf, Scott Williams Dudley Bradley, Geoff Crompton, Dave Popson and J.R. Reid . The most famous North Carolina link to the Bucks was former coach George Karl.
 
The Bucks also pulled off a deal with San Antonio to acquire the rights to second rounder Damir Markota. The 6-foot-10-inch, 20-year-old forward is from Croatia, which also produced Toni Kukoc and Andrew Bogut.
 
The draft is just the first piece of the off-season puzzle for the Bucks. Free agency and trades remain.

General Manager Larry Harris has been brutally candid about his interest in dealing Jamaal Magloire, if it makes sense. I'll be very surprised if Magloire is still with the Bucks in October. Bogut is ready to be the starting center and Magloire does have some value around the league. Teams can start to negotiate with free agents on July 1st, but contracts can't be signed until July 12.