Mbah a Moute defends his turf

Defense Wins Championships! Courtesy of the Milwaukee Sentinal

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is a prince.

Literally.

Back home in Cameroon, his father is an elected village chief, so he's got that going for him.
But this is why he is a prince in a basketball sense:

"The most important thing is defense," he said. "My main thing is to play defense."

A defense-first declaration from a Milwaukee Buck? And a rookie and a second-round pick at that?

Believe this, he plays NBA defense the way it is supposed to be played. He gets it, really gets it, after all of five games in the league.

Think about that for a minute.

Who was the last rookie to actually help a team defensively?

Probably Tim Duncan.

For the Bucks, it was a guy named Sidney Moncrief.

Already, this is the class Mbah a Moute is approaching.

He played 34 minutes Wednesday night. A lot of his court time came in the fourth quarter and in overtime of the 112-104 victory against Washington, which tells everything. It doesn't matter who starts NBA games. It matters who finishes the close ones.

More than that, it matters who finishes for Scott Skiles, a coach who rewards defense. Mbah a Moute finished against the Wizards with Richard Jefferson, Andrew Bogut, Luke Ridnour and Ramon Sessions.

Think about that, too.

Without Michael Redd, the best five players were Jefferson, Bogut, two point guards and a rookie second-round pick.

If you're looking for a reason to get excited again about a team that has given you almost none for the longest time, there it was, right there, that game against the Wizards. For almost all of a fourth quarter and overtime, Skiles stayed with a feverishly energetic quintet that dived on the floor, made stops and steals, finished plays and got the Bradley Center jumping as it hasn't jumped in a while.

And in the middle of it was this 6-foot-8 rookie all over Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler, this second-round prince from UCLA

"It's not a matter of where you're drafted," Jefferson said. "It's a matter of if you can play basketball. And he can play basketball. Already, he's been asked to guard the best players on the other team. When you're asked to do that, there is no higher compliment you can be paid as an individual."

Credit general manager John Hammond and Skiles for drafting Mbah a Moute, because so far no second-rounder has helped his team so much.

"When we picked him we knew he was an NBA-ready defender, but he needed improvement on his offensive game," Skiles said. "Then we saw him work and the energy and the effort he put into it. His offensive game is going to come around. He's making shots and doing a lot of good things."

Against the Wizards, he made eight of 10 for 17 points. The Bucks had the confidence in him to let him try a game-winner in regulation. He took the baseline in overtime. He made the jumper that finished Washington. He had six rebounds. He is becoming a complete player the right way, by leading with defense.

"That's me," he said. "I'm proof that defense wins championships. It's happened everywhere I've been."

In Cameroon. At his Florida high school. And especially at UCLA, where he knew nothing of the Bruins' singular heritage before enrolling. Soon enough, he knew.

Now he needs to know that the Bucks were once a great defensive team with Moncrief at the fore.

Maybe this is what it will take, a prince to uphold Sir Sid's legacy.