Ryan Rollins, who had a superstar prep career with the Dakota Cougars, was recently given a guaranteed full season contract with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, the team announced on March 4.
The 22-year-old guard was originally brought on to the team with a two-way contract on Feb. 20, 2024, meaning he could be sent between the Bucks and the team’s G-League associate, the Wisconsin Herd. But his play this season with the Eastern Conference contender compelled the team to convert his contract into a full, standard NBA contract.
So far this season, Rollins has played in 39 games and started in eight of them. He’s averaging 4.9 points, 1.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game while shooting 45.1% from the field and 34.8% from 3.
Two of his best games were recent — he scored 16 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 3 and then dropped 15 in a win over the Washington Wizards, his former team, with four assists, three steals and four rebounds.
Rollins was an all-state selection as a senior with Dakota in the 2019-20 season before the season was shut down for COVID., scoring 25.5 points per game with nine rebounds and five assists per game. He went on to have two strong seasons with the Toledo Rockets, where he averaged 16.4 points per game in two seasons before being drafted in the second round of he 2022 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks.