Basketball Blog

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed guard Royal (roy-AL) Ivey (6-4, 215) to a one-year contract, General Manager Larry Harris announced today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Royal has shown that he can play both the point and off-guard positions,” said Harris. “He has good size and athleticism, and brings a defensive mentality to our roster.”

Drafted by Atlanta in the second round (37th overall) in 2004, Ivey has played the last three seasons with the Hawks. In 188 career games (89 starts), Ivey has averaged 3.4 points and 1.2 assists in 12.4 minutes per contest.

Last season, Ivey, 25, appeared in 53 games (18 starts) averaging 3.0 points and 1.0 rebound in 10.0 minutes per game. During the 2005-06 campaign Ivey produced his best statistical season of his young career. Starting in a career-high 66 games (73 total), he led all NBA guards in fewest turnovers per 48 minutes (1.1). He finished the 2005-06 season averaging career-highs in points (3.6) and minutes (13.4). During his rookie season of 2004-05, Ivey appeared in 62 games, posting averages of 3.6 points and 1.7 assists in 13.0 minutes.

A native of Harlem, NY, Ivey enjoyed a four-year collegiate career at the University of Texas. He was selected twice to the Big 12 All-Defensive team, as well as finishing as UT’s all-time career leader in games started (126). During his four-year career, Ivey helped lead the Longhorns to four NCAA Tourney appearances, including three consecutive “Sweet 16” berths and one Final Four appearance. He finished his career at UT with averages of 7.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists.