One of the keys to the Milwaukee Bucks' hopes to win a championship -- and they are realistic given the way they have handled the supposedly invincible West -- has not played since February and may not be activated for the playoffs. But that's OK.

	Ham's stats are ordinary, but he brings toughness to the Bucks.

One of the keys to the Bucks' plans to at least win the East -- just in case anyone has mistakingly allowed them to slip off their radar screen with all the hype over the return of Alonzo Mourning and the slide of the 76ers -- has not taken more than nine shots all season, or in his career, and has 2000-01 highs of 13 points and 13 rebounds. And it doesn't matter.

One of the keys to the Bucks' for-sure Central Division title -- as they stride to the end of the regular season -- has three rings already, but little credit. So what.

Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson are the stars. But -- in order -- Jerome Kersey, Darvin Ham and Scott Williams are the difference.

Even Coach George Karl says so, often. He has said it so often that it had become a point of curiosity: three role players, one of whom is on the injured list and two others whose minutes can be spotty, are what stands between the Bucks realizing the same preseason hype that originally made them wince? And then he continues to say it and the Bucks continue to win and Herb Kohl continues to shovel money at him, so Karl must know what he's talking about. By now, we believe. The cheer that made Milwaukee famous.

Each case is different, though not a surprise. Kersey, for example, had a similar leadership role with the Spurs in their championship season, posting modest statistics off the bench but invaluable support in areas of greater importance. San Antonio does not win it without the veteran influence of veterans in their first season with the team, the likes of Kersey, Mario Elie, Steve Kerr. Karl, who coached Kersey in Seattle in 1997-98, brought him to Milwaukee as a free agent in late-November for the same reason.

Milwaukee was 3-7 at the start of that day (they would start 3-9). The turnaround started soon after and continued even as Kersey went on the injured list March 1 because of a bad left foot. Some coincidence.

"In the stage where we saved the season, Jerome was very pivotal to us," Karl said. "He had joined our team right when we were [3-6] and struggling, and he played about five or six games in that stretch. He was out of shape, but he played with a toughness and an anger that I could kind of push my other guys to. Darvin and Scottie Williams, two of our hustle guys, both were out. So Jerome in a lot of ways -- his professionalism, his anger, his attitude -- got me a path to go on to demand certain things from other guys."

In other words, he helped get the other players in line so they would listen to Karl. Or at least more than they had been listening.

	“	I'm only 6-6, 240, but I do have muscles and I am willing to use them. I don't like people bullying my teammates. These are my brothers out here. I'm with them more so than my family at this time of the year, so I'm my brother's keeper. ”
		— Darvin Ham

"I had an opportunity to see them before I signed this year," Kersey said. "I was wondering, 'What is the disposition of this team? What are they trying to do?' That was early on, before I signed. I'm not saying I'm taking responsibility for anything that's going on, but I've just seen this team grow a little bit more. I guess some of the things I've said to some of the players helped out."

Yeah. Guess so.

Ham and Williams, meanwhile, were carryovers. They just didn't carry over far into the new season before being sidelined by injury, Williams because of back spasms and Ham after recovery from surgery on his left foot. The Bucks were in full meltdown mode at the time, Karl cited the absences as a key reason, and everyone looked at the guy like he was crazy. Maybe the fact that he has gotten that look a lot cushioned the blow, but Karl held firm to the stance.

The vindication came when Williams, a three-time champion with the Bulls, and Ham, an explosive leaper, returned. Point taken.

"When Darvin and Scottie Williams were out of the lineup early in the season, we thought, 'Well, it'll be easy to replace those guys,' " Karl said. "But it wasn't. Their guts and their toughness. I don't know if we've gotten it all back yet."

Said Ham: "I sat on the sidelines hurt earlier this year and saw guys take cheap shots at our guys. I saw guys not playing fair basketball at all times. I like to bring that physical edge, that mental edge. Like an Oakley or a Mason or something like that. I'm only 6-6, 240, but I do have muscles and I am willing to use them. I don't like people bullying my teammates. These are my brothers out here. I'm with them more so than my family at this time of the year, so I'm my brother's keeper."

The worst offender?

"Oakley. He's high on my list of guys that tries to stretch his boundaries a little bit. Especially with the new rules being in place, there's a lot of limitations of what we can do and the fines are so strict, but I wish we were back in those Piston days sometimes when I see that guy. I mean, he'll take cheap shots at Ray, at Sam, try to elbow them. We just played Phoenix [Sunday] and [Tom] Gugliotta took a cheap shot at my teammate Tim Thomas. I approached him immediately afterwards and let him know that as long as I'm out there or on the active roster, I'm not going to stand for things like that. That's what I try to bring to the game, as much as my hard work and tenacity."

Googs has been put on notice. Consider Oak and Mase warned. The rest of the league, too.

Around The League
Rob Babcock, the Timberwolves director of player personnel, pressed on during the college tournaments, continuing to scout games even though Minnesota doesn't have a first-round pick in four of the next five drafts -- and he was getting more than a little grief in the process. As if there was ever a chance he was going to get off the hook.

Actually, it wasn't as bad as he expected at the start of the season, when the sanctions in Smithgate first came down. But there were still arenas where college students would check out the placards before the games, see which NBA teams would be represented ... and than harass Babcock about not needing to be there. Then colleagues -- those who know him well enough to get away with it -- would ask why he bothered to show.

"Most of the stuff is pretty funny," Babcock said. "Some are ignorant, where you kind of want to go back and find out who said it and set them straight. But you don't. You just sort of bite your lip."

He soldiered on, to the East Regional in Greensboro, N.C., and the South Regional in Memphis, the Big East and ACC tournaments before that, and even five days in Italy, Germany and Slovenia before that. Just in case.

It makes sense. The Timberwolves could trade into the first round, since teams that pick late are often willing to dump the pick for a couple second rounders so they don't get tied to the guaranteed contract for a guy who might not make the team. Plus, it will allow Minnesota to gauge the progress of players for years to come, an important consideration when trade talks arise in 2004 or whenever.

"My approach, regardless whether we have picks or don't have picks, is that you've got to prepare as though you'll be anywhere in the draft, from No. 1 to the very end," Babcock said. "You never know. We could have a trade right before the draft and then end up with a late-first round pick. If you don't prepare accordingly, you could get burned. So we are preparing as if we have a first-round pick."

So shut up.

Scott Howard-Cooper covers the NBA for the Sacramento Bee and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.