Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 12:00:00 AM MST
Milicic looks like 'The Man'
By Marc J. Spears, Denver Post
Raves about high school phenom LeBron James and Syracuse freshman sensation forward Carmelo Anthony make agent Marc Cornstein frustrated.
It's not that Cornstein doesn't respect either as top NBA draft prospects. Rather, although many basketball fans and media members sing their praises, most have no idea how good another Cornstein client is. That's forward Darko Milicic of Serbia.
Well, I do now. And all I have to say is: Wow.
Last week I acquired two game films of the 17-year-old sensation. Because NBA officials aren't yet allowed to make public comments about him, I decided to watch the footage with longtime college coach Lonnie Porter. And after having a bad day, the winningest college coach in Colorado history felt good about the game of basketball again, thanks to the 7-foot, 240-pounder.
"I would hate to be a general manager who has to make the No. 1 pick," said Porter, who has won more than 400 games during 26 years as the head coach at Division II Regis. "It may be a blessing not to get No. 1, which without a doubt will be used to get LeBron James. By popularity, it goes Le- Bron James, Carmelo Anthony and then Darko Milicic.
"But the best player, in my opinion, is probably in this order. This is tough. People aren't going to like this, but I'm not trying to make friends. I am going to have to go with this kid (Milicic), Carmelo two and LeBron three."
Cornstein has said one thing Milicic has that James and Anthony don't is the level of competition he is playing against. While James was blowing past high school kids and Anthony ruled the Final Four, Milicic was playing against grown men in Yugoslavia. In fact, the average age of the players on Milicic's team, KK Hemofarm, is 27.
While intently watching the DVD, Porter was impressed with the level of competition. In one of the films, Milicic played against 2002 YUBA League champion Partizan last October. Partizan's roster included guard Milos Vujanic (a New York Knicks second-round pick), center Nenad Krstic (a New Jersey Nets first-round pick) and 2001 Atlantic-10 player of the year Marvin O'Connor of St. Joseph's.
"He was playing against talent that would be comparable to high Division I," Porter said.
Porter was shocked by Milicic's body at such a young age.
"By looking at the DVD, I'd think he was about 21, 22 years old," Porter said. He's going against some good people. Men."
Milicic also played like a man, scoring a quiet 18 points (Porter was disappointed he didn't get more touches). The left-hander has 3-point range and a nice free- throw stroke, made a midrange jumper off the dribble, easily blocked shots and showed some nastiness. He even played with his shooting hand bandaged and returned from an ankle injury in the game.
Porter's only knock was that Milicic needs to improve his offensive game with his back to the basket, and the coach couldn't tell how good a passer Milicic was. But in probably his most impressive move, Milicic dribbled the length of the court, then skied for a ferocious dunk against Krstic, who fell hard to the floor.
"He's the top player in Division I if he is playing right now," Porter said. "I can feel the hunger he has. You can see it in his body language. That's different. He's 17 years old, and he's a man."
Said Cornstein: "Darko is a unique talent that no one has seen. He has certainly had better tapes than that one."
Nuggets fans might be skeptical about drafting another European teen after Nikoloz Tskitishvili struggled this season. But with all due respect to "Skita," Milicic is better prepared for the NBA because he logs a lot of minutes, is taking a physical beating in Yugoslavia and has a mature body.
If the Nuggets get the No. 1 pick, expect them to select James because of his versatility and the attention and financial dividends he would bring. And even as talented as Anthony is, indications early on are Milicic would be the Nuggets' pick if they selected second. And Porter seconded that notion.
"If the Nuggets don't get the No. 1 pick, they will take this kid, and it will be a blessing," Porter said.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E113%7E1337520,00.html
Milicic looks like 'The Man'
By Marc J. Spears, Denver Post
Raves about high school phenom LeBron James and Syracuse freshman sensation forward Carmelo Anthony make agent Marc Cornstein frustrated.
It's not that Cornstein doesn't respect either as top NBA draft prospects. Rather, although many basketball fans and media members sing their praises, most have no idea how good another Cornstein client is. That's forward Darko Milicic of Serbia.
Well, I do now. And all I have to say is: Wow.
Last week I acquired two game films of the 17-year-old sensation. Because NBA officials aren't yet allowed to make public comments about him, I decided to watch the footage with longtime college coach Lonnie Porter. And after having a bad day, the winningest college coach in Colorado history felt good about the game of basketball again, thanks to the 7-foot, 240-pounder.
"I would hate to be a general manager who has to make the No. 1 pick," said Porter, who has won more than 400 games during 26 years as the head coach at Division II Regis. "It may be a blessing not to get No. 1, which without a doubt will be used to get LeBron James. By popularity, it goes Le- Bron James, Carmelo Anthony and then Darko Milicic.
"But the best player, in my opinion, is probably in this order. This is tough. People aren't going to like this, but I'm not trying to make friends. I am going to have to go with this kid (Milicic), Carmelo two and LeBron three."
Cornstein has said one thing Milicic has that James and Anthony don't is the level of competition he is playing against. While James was blowing past high school kids and Anthony ruled the Final Four, Milicic was playing against grown men in Yugoslavia. In fact, the average age of the players on Milicic's team, KK Hemofarm, is 27.
While intently watching the DVD, Porter was impressed with the level of competition. In one of the films, Milicic played against 2002 YUBA League champion Partizan last October. Partizan's roster included guard Milos Vujanic (a New York Knicks second-round pick), center Nenad Krstic (a New Jersey Nets first-round pick) and 2001 Atlantic-10 player of the year Marvin O'Connor of St. Joseph's.
"He was playing against talent that would be comparable to high Division I," Porter said.
Porter was shocked by Milicic's body at such a young age.
"By looking at the DVD, I'd think he was about 21, 22 years old," Porter said. He's going against some good people. Men."
Milicic also played like a man, scoring a quiet 18 points (Porter was disappointed he didn't get more touches). The left-hander has 3-point range and a nice free- throw stroke, made a midrange jumper off the dribble, easily blocked shots and showed some nastiness. He even played with his shooting hand bandaged and returned from an ankle injury in the game.
Porter's only knock was that Milicic needs to improve his offensive game with his back to the basket, and the coach couldn't tell how good a passer Milicic was. But in probably his most impressive move, Milicic dribbled the length of the court, then skied for a ferocious dunk against Krstic, who fell hard to the floor.
"He's the top player in Division I if he is playing right now," Porter said. "I can feel the hunger he has. You can see it in his body language. That's different. He's 17 years old, and he's a man."
Said Cornstein: "Darko is a unique talent that no one has seen. He has certainly had better tapes than that one."
Nuggets fans might be skeptical about drafting another European teen after Nikoloz Tskitishvili struggled this season. But with all due respect to "Skita," Milicic is better prepared for the NBA because he logs a lot of minutes, is taking a physical beating in Yugoslavia and has a mature body.
If the Nuggets get the No. 1 pick, expect them to select James because of his versatility and the attention and financial dividends he would bring. And even as talented as Anthony is, indications early on are Milicic would be the Nuggets' pick if they selected second. And Porter seconded that notion.
"If the Nuggets don't get the No. 1 pick, they will take this kid, and it will be a blessing," Porter said.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E113%7E1337520,00.html
