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Milicic glad for fresh start; Orlando Sentinel (New Darko quotes!)
Topic Started: Feb 21 2006, 08:04 AM (192 Views)
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Milicic couldn't help but smile. He had left the cold -- and perhaps the cold shoulders -- behind in Detroit.

He knew it was time to find a new team, a new city and a new chance to prove himself.

And if he can burn the legions of skeptics along the way, all the better.

"This is the chance," Milicic said after practice at Quicken Loans Arena, where the Magic face the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight. "I feel good about it. Good guys, good players, good city. I want to show Coach how hard I want to play."

Last week the Magic acquired the 7-foot Milicic and point guard Carlos Arroyo from the Pistons for center Kelvin Cato and a first-round pick.

Magic Coach Brian Hill said Milicic and Arroyo both could play tonight. "I'd like to get them out there," Hill said.

That's fine with them.

Link

He wants to work hard, because he knows he'll be rewarded for doing so, unlike his days in Detroit. I can't wait for tonight!
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gomagic33
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Mr. Anderson
I'm sure alot of the Magic fans are getting all worked up for this game. I'm not sure how much he will play though.
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NBA: The Life
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I'd like to see how he plays as well. Its pretty interesting to see the underdog explode. This next game coming up between Cavs is gonna be good.
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Black and Blue
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/bask...story?track=rss

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CLEVELAND -- Darko Milicic might have felt out of place in his first practice with the Orlando Magic on Monday.

He certainly looked the part. He resembled a tourist who had returned from a weekend in Miami, sporting a nasty sunburn and peeling face.

"I fell asleep on the beach," he said, sheepishly.

It's just one of the many adjustments Milicic will have to make now that he's playing with a Florida-based team.

Milicic couldn't help but smile. He had left the cold -- and perhaps the cold shoulders -- behind in Detroit.

He knew it was time to find a new team, a new city and a new chance to prove himself.

And if he can burn the legions of skeptics along the way, all the better.

"This is the chance," Milicic said after practice at Quicken Loans Arena, where the Magic face the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight. "I feel good about it. Good guys, good players, good city. I want to show Coach how hard I want to play."

Last week the Magic acquired the 7-foot Milicic and point guard Carlos Arroyo from the Pistons for center Kelvin Cato and a first-round pick.

Magic Coach Brian Hill said Milicic and Arroyo both could play tonight. "I'd like to get them out there," Hill said.

That's fine with them.

Playing time -- or rather the lack of it -- was the issue with Milicic and Arroyo in Detroit.

Milicic, 20, took more heat because the Pistons invested a No. 2 draft pick in him in 2003, passing up the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade.

Milicic was sentenced to the bench by then-coach Larry Brown, seeing only mop-up minutes for 2 1/2 seasons.

He was lampooned as a bust.

In fairness, he was playing behind Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and, later, Antonio McDyess. The Pistons assembled a championship team and won the title in the 2003-04 season, leaving Milicic with little opportunity.

The Serbia native has played in only 96 games in his career, averaging a microscopic 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds.

His spirits crushed, his attitude soured.

Milicic and the Pistons knew it was time to part.

"At the end, he was frustrated," said Marc Cornstein, Milicic's agent, on Monday. "Anyone in life would be. I think that happened with Darko.
"They didn't want to sacrifice games or minutes in games to develop players."

Milicic said he doesn't know why he saw so little action in Motown. "That's past. . . . It happened for a reason,'' he said. "I don't want to think about it anymore. This starts a new career for me."

  Magic fans can look at him as an international replacement for Fran Vazquez, Orlando's runaway draft pick. Call it The Milicic Mulligan.

The Magic took a flier on him at little risk. They'll have 31 games this season and all of next season to try to unravel the Milicic mystery.

"The thing about Darko," says legendary Bill Walton, "is that nobody knows. Nobody has ever really seen him play . . . other than garbage time."

Milicic's upside: Very skilled player, good shooter and shot-blocker. Downside: Work ethic, desire and strength are suspect.

Hill said teams sometimes give up too soon on big men. The Magic hope Milicic will be a late-bloomer such as the Indiana Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal and the Utah Jazz's Mehmet Okur and dream of teaming him with Dwight Howard to form a future front line.

At last weekend's all-star festivities, four of Milicic's former teammates gave him ringing endorsements. But they didn't overlook his warts, either.

"This trade is like a 'Get Out of Jail Free Card' for Darko," Pistons center Ben Wallace said. "It's a fresh start. It'll be up to him. Darko's definitely got some talent. The thing he didn't show was the passion for the game, the want to dominate the game."

Offered Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups, "I've been telling him, 'When they page you, you better answer.' . . . He has the skills, but sometimes he looked a little frustrated, a little disinterested, and that might have had to do more with Larry . . . his frustration. I chalk it up to that."

Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace says Milicic might have the last laugh yet.

"Everyone thinks he's a bust and makes jokes about him . . .," he said. "But the joke is going to be on them."


The best part is that he fell asleep on the beach. Talk about a tough workout regimine!
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Black and Blue
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The other amazing thing that I just cant get over is how much Rasheed Wallace and other pistons players seem to respect Darko and his game. Players dont seem to typically put their necks out there and endorse unproven players.
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Pitbullz EP
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I dont expect either one to do a whole lot being that they've had one day of practice. and proabably dont know the play book too well.
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Hill2Howard
Feb. 21 2006 10:19 AM
I dont expect either one to do a whole lot being that they've had one day of practice. and proabably dont know the play book too well.

You never know, look at Dwight. He killed in his beginning games showing up the skeptics.
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Black and Blue
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Hill2Howard
Feb. 21 2006 10:19 AM
I dont expect either one to do a whole lot being that they've had one day of practice. and proabably dont know the play book too well.

I agree. They better give Darko plenty of minutes off the bat to keep him happy.
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Black and Blue
Feb. 21 2006 11:05 AM
I agree. They better give Darko plenty of minutes off the bat to keep him happy.

That wouldn't be very smart to just give him alot of minutes off the bat. Maybe like 10 MPG for the first 2 or 3 games would be good so he can get into the feel of things because if you gave a guy that never gets any minutes alot of minutes its gonna go sour real fast.
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adamosthegreek
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I'M LOVING THIS KID EVEN MORE!!! :yes: :) :D
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gomagic33
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Mr. Anderson
Darko's Free at Last!

Now it's time to see how good he really is.
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adamosthegreek
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Kings of Europe
New slogan for Darko (ala Ivan Drago Rocky-style):
"I WILL BREAK YOU" :yes: :) :D
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