MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Bucks moved quickly to find their new coach, signing Scott Skiles to a four-year deal and introducing him at a news conference Monday.

Skiles takes over for Larry Krystkowiak, who was fired last week after a disappointing season.

The 44-year-old Skiles brings extensive NBA head coaching experience and a disciplinarian approach to Milwaukee – something the Bucks didn’t necessarily get from their two previous coaches, Krystkowiak and Terry Stotts.

And Skiles didn’t back away from his reputation for being demanding on players.

“I always feel like I’m supposed to apologize for that,” Skiles said. “And I’m not sure that’s the tack I want to take. Anybody that is going to come to work with enthusiasm, concentrate and play hard will never have a problem with me. I don’t care if they throw the ball in the seats 25 times a game.”

Skiles then added: “They’ll be pulled out of the game before they get to 25, of course, but they will never have a problem with me.”

Skiles was fired by Chicago in December after making the playoffs in three of his first four seasons as the Bulls’ head coach. Skiles also coached three seasons in Phoenix. He is a close friend of Krystkowiak, and spoke to him last week about the possibility of becoming his replacement. Skiles said Krystkowiak called it a “great” opportunity, and doesn’t expect the decision to take the job would affect their friendship.

Krystkowiak, who was fired Thursday, was a first-time NBA head coach when he replaced Stotts near the end of the 2006-2007 season. Stotts had only 1 1/2 seasons of NBA head coaching experience in Atlanta.

In announcing Krystkowiak’s firing last week, new Bucks general manager John Hammond said experience wasn’t necessarily a prerequisite for the team’s next head coach.

But Hammond insisted that the Bucks had to get tougher – and toughness has been Skiles’ trademark characteristic, both as a player and as a coach.

Hammond said Monday that he believes players want to be coached.

“It’s a player’s responsibility to buy into it and be willing to accept it,” Hammond said.

Skiles originally was taken by the Bucks out of Michigan State in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft and played 10 seasons with Milwaukee, Indiana, Orlando, Washington and Philadelphia.