Four good reasons Jamil Wilson will be intently watching the upcoming NCAA Division I Final Four:

Kansas.

North Carolina.

UCLA.

Memphis.

Each of the aforementioned powerhouses is actively recruiting Wilson, the silky-smooth 6-foot-6 small forward from Horlick High School.

Wilson, who is generally considered one of the top 10 juniors in the nation, has yet to determine the five schools he'll officially visit. However, he won't make an official visit to either Wisconsin or Marquette - simply because he's been to both of those schools on numerous occasions.

Four players to watch in Final Four

With the Milwaukee Bucks stumbling into the Draft Lottery again, they are virtually assured of having one of the top seven picks in the June NBA draft.

That means the Bucks' scouting department, headed up by interim general manager Dave Babcock, will be carefully scrutinizing the abilities of several players in the Final Four. Among the players drawing keen interest from the Bucks are UCLA guards Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook and fabulous freshman forward Kevin Love, along with another freshman sensation, point guard Derrick Rose of Memphis.

Rose is the cream of the Final Four crop. Most NBA scouting directors rank Rose as the second-best prospect in the draft - behind Kansas State forward Michael Beasley.

Two other Final Four players who are slam-dunk first-round selections - although they aren't likely to be lottery picks - are North Carolina big man Tyler Hansbrough and point guard Ty Lawson.

Gagne isn't the same

Ever since the Milwaukee Brewers signed reliever Eric Gagne, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin and manager Ned Yost have almost gloated about their acquisition.

Melvin and Yost have insisted Gagne will excel now that he's back in his customary closer's role - instead of the ill-fated set-up role he was in last season with the Boston Red Sox when he recorded a pathetic 6.75 earned-run average.

Well, if you watched Gagne in his Brewers' debut Monday against the Cubs, Gagne sure resembled the pitcher everyone saw in Boston last season. Gagne was, in a word, rocked. He pitched one inning and gave up three hits and three runs - all earned - including a three-run homer to Kosuke Fukudome.

Granted, it was only one outing and considering the Brewers gave him an excessively high one-year, $10 million contract, Gagne will undoubtedly have plenty of opportunities to redeem himself.

Some things never change

Green Bay Packers general manager Teddy "Bear" Thompson believes in building a team through the draft. And that's well and good.

But you can still be active in free agency and, for the second straight year, Thompson has been inactive for all intents and purposes. Last year, Thompson's "prized" free-agent signee was defensive back Frank Walker. He turned out to be a bust.

This year, with more than $32 million - yes, $32M - at his disposal, Thompson's "marquee" free-agent signing has been a run-of-the-mill linebacker named Brandon Chillar.

If you don't think free agency can be an invaluable tool to improving a team, just check out the New York Giants and New England Patriots, who just happened to be the last two teams standing last season.

Do you think for a minute the Giants would have won the Super Bowl without a difference-maker like Plaxico Burress? And how did the Giants get Burress? By signing him as a free agent.

And do you think for a minute the Patriots would have run the regular-season table and narrowly missed garnering another Super Bowl ring without Adalius Thomas? Of course not. And how did the Patriots get that prime-time player? Through free agency.

AROUND THE HORN: I'll be SHOCKED if guard Dominic James returns to Marquette for another season. … Jamil Wilson isn't the only local basketball standout who is competing in track and field for the first time this season. So are Case's Jaleesa Trussell, The Journal Times' 2007-2008 Player of the Year, and Catholic Central's talented Carol Henney. … Years from now I can imagine Brewers fans debating who was the better hitter: Paul Molitor or Ryan Braun. … Lady Luck was hardly on Larry Harris' side during his tenure as Bucks' GM. Sure, he got the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft and took Andrew Bogut, one the best young centers in the game. But what if Harris had gotten the No. 1 pick in 2004 and gotten Dwight Howard? Or, if he had gotten the No. 1 pick the year before that and gotten a guy named LeBron James? If either of those had occurred, one can safely assume Harris would still be running the Bucks' basketball operations.

Gery Woelfel is a sports reporter for The Journal Times. Gery can be reached by calling (262) 634-3322, Ext. 322, or by email at gery.woelfel@lee.net