New Bucks guard Donte DiVincenzo's arrival in Milwaukee is a joyous occasion for his family

Matt Velazquez | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Show Caption Hide Caption New Milwaukee Bucks guard Donte DiVincenzo is introduced to the media on Monday The Milwaukee Bucks introduce draft pick Donte DiVincenzo at a Monday news conference.

As a child in Wilmington, Del., John DiVincenzo remembers sitting on the couch and watching television with his dad. At first, their antenna picked up three channels and then after a while a fourth came in.

Of the many things they'd watch together, one of them was basketball. In the late 1960s and early '70s, the Milwaukee Bucks captured his heart and he became a lifelong fan.

He dared to wear a Bucks jersey around — he can't remember the name on the back, but believes it was Ricky Pierce — even to Philadelphia, taking the yellow mustard smears as badges of pride.

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“We watched the Bucks and I just took a liking to it," DiVincenzo said. "Don Nelson was a great coach. I jumped on that bandwagon. Lew Alcindor, Sidney Moncrief was my favorite player, Ricky Pierce, and I just followed them."

The Bucks were always part of the DiVincenzo family and as of last Thursday, the DiVincenzo family became part of the Bucks.

“Today I have the Big Ragu to cheer for," DiVincenzo said Monday, beaming.

The Big Ragu, of course, is DiVincenzo's son, Donte, who joined the Bucks as the No. 17 pick in the NBA draft.

On Monday, the younger DiVincenzo, who will wear No. 9 in Milwaukee, was introduced at the team's downtown practice facility alongside Bucks general manager Jon Horst and coach Mike Budenholzer.

John's Bucks fandom didn't get passed down to Donte, who admits he was more interested in soccer when he was a kid. But the fandom is undoubtedly real.

When Donte was going around doing pre-draft workouts, he remembers his dad begging him for a Bucks shirt, which he dutifully procured, bringing him a white, long-sleeve T-shirt that his dad slipped on while jumping up and down with excitement.

And of course there were the Bucks stories that were told both before Donte got drafted and certainly after.

“When I got drafted, he was like a little kid," Donte said. "He was shooting out names left and right and I was like, 'Pops, I don’t know these names.' ”

Fans in Milwaukee are already making it known to Donte that they know his name. Walking around his hotel Monday with his family, people yelled out his name and welcomed him to the city.

As exciting as that is, DiVincenzo knows that he came to Milwaukee with a job to do, one that necessitates keeping his ego in check.

As a rookie with the Bucks, he's going to have to battle day in and day out to earn playing time. He's going to have to fit in with star Giannis Antetokounmpo and perform his role — whatever that may be — to the best of his ability if he's going to play any part in the Bucks going from perennial playoff team to an actual contender.

While at Villanova, where he was part of two national-championship teams and was named the Final Four's most outstanding player in April, DiVincenzo demonstrated the ability to put his team first by coming off the bench despite having the talent to start.

“I think it’ll make it a bit easier just because I’m not coming in here with an ego; I’m not coming in here as the main guy on the national championship team," DiVincenzo said. "I’m just coming in here wanting to work and I want to just fit in. That’s my main goal.”

With the Bucks, a squad that is teeming with ball-handlers and playmakers, DiVincenzo, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound combo guard, sees an opportunity to help the team in the backcourt. He recognizes the need to first prove himself defensively and also believes he can mesh well with the team's numerous options on offense whether he's on the ball or off.

“Giannis has the ball in his hand a lot and you have Eric Bledsoe and you have Malcolm (Brogdon)," he said. "Those guys can all primarily handle the ball, but my ability to get them off the ball and create different looks for them and getting them shots is an ability of mine.

"Just tightening up my ball-handling and just being more aggressive with it, I think, will really open up different lineups for us and give the flexibility to play different guys.”

Horst and Budenholzer nodded in approval of DiVincenzo's comments during the introductory news conference, using their own answers to echo the praise they doled out on draft night as they complimented DiVincenzo's competitive spirit, character and on-court versatility.

Over the past few days, the Bucks' decision to draft DiVincenzo has been a topic of national conversation, mostly in relation to trades that could have happened.

Atlanta Hawks GM Travis Schlenk said in a radio interview Friday that the two teams were working on a dealing to swap picks that got scuttled when the Hawks saw Milwaukee's intention to take DiVincenzo leaked on social media. Other teams, like the Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets, were reportedly interested in working out a deal with the Bucks.

“We’re not going to comment, I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment, on things that did or didn’t happen," Horst said. "I can tell you ... what happened in our room. There was a lot of excitement. Donte was the guy that we targeted whether he had the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, whatever pick we had, he was the guy that we were targeting.

"We knew that we had an opportunity to draft him there was no doubt he was the player we were going to draft at that time.”

Those words and that decision were music to the ears of the DiVincenzo family, including John, his wife Kathie and eldest son John who were all seated in the front row Monday morning.

The elder John has spent most of his life watching and cheering for the Bucks and can't wait for the first opportunity to swap out his old threads for a new No. 9 jersey bearing the family name.

"It’s just unbelievable to be here," he said, commenting on seeing "Fear the Deer" written in block letters across the wall. “Donte will give this organization everything and every minute that he’s here. ...

"Diving on the floor is the norm for him and I believe that will help this team reach the next level.”