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Darko: Last laugh?
Teammates say he's improving
June 22, 2005
BY HELENE ST. JAMES
[font=helvetica,arial]FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER[/font]
SAN ANTONIO -- Pistons trainer Mike Abdenour had sounded last call a half-dozen times, but Darko Milicic and Horace Jenkins still kept squaring off at one end of the court Tuesday morning at the SBC Center.
The two Pistons spent a good half-hour after shoot-around playing one-on-one, which is about as much of a mismatch as possible. Milicic is 7-feet and 250 pounds; Jenkins is generously listed at 6-1 and 180 pounds.
The play was spirited, though, and hugely entertaining to teammates, especially Elden Campbell, who lay stretched out on the scorer's table and provided playfully disdainful commentaries.
Like, for example, when Jenkins complained he should have gotten a foul call, Campbell countered, saying: "He does need his arms to shoot."
Seated at the far baseline, Darvin Ham watched the events unfold.
"Are you sleeping over there, Easy?" he yelled out to Campbell.
Rasheed Wallace kept an eye on things, too, and barked when he overheard Milicic use his patented phrase, "The ball don't lie," when Jenkins missed a shot. Wallace also urged Milicic on, yelling, "Kill him, Darko."
To his credit, Jenkins, a reserve guard not on the playoff roster, made several shots over Milicic, while Milicic at times became so frustrated at missing shots that he got pretty vocal.
"It's all in fun, though," Jenkins said. "When he gets mad, it's in Serbian. When he feels good, it's in English."
Milicic, the second overall pick in the 2003 draft, has said on more than one occasion that he would feel better if he got to play regularly. Asked if he is single-handedly working on getting Milicic into next season's rotation, Jenkins laughed.
"I hope so," he said. "I like Darko a lot. I just try to help him out. That guy's got a lot of potential, and I think if he just stays patient and continues to work hard, he's got a bright future ahead of him.
"I know it's frustrating because everybody wants to play, but at the same time he just has to be patient. He is playing behind guys who have been All-Stars, superstars in the league."
Jenkins has seen improvements in Milicic since training camp.
"Just his attitude," Jenkins said. "I thought earlier in the year he was a little more tentative. Maybe it's because of going against superstars, but at the same time, he's been getting a little more aggressive."
Jenkins said Milicic's skills have gotten better, specifically "him making post moves, he's a little more aggressive offensively and defensively. And just his instincts have gotten a lot better, to me."
Campbell sees the most improvement in how much stronger Milicic has gotten. Milicic turned 20 Monday.
"When he first got here, you could bang him around a little bit, but now you can't," Campbell said. "He holds his ground pretty good. That's probably where he made his most strides."
A big summer lies ahead for Milicic. He will spend July playing in the summer league and then try out with the Serbian national team for the European Championships in September
Darko: Last laugh?
Teammates say he's improving
June 22, 2005
BY HELENE ST. JAMES
[font=helvetica,arial]FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER[/font]
SAN ANTONIO -- Pistons trainer Mike Abdenour had sounded last call a half-dozen times, but Darko Milicic and Horace Jenkins still kept squaring off at one end of the court Tuesday morning at the SBC Center.
The two Pistons spent a good half-hour after shoot-around playing one-on-one, which is about as much of a mismatch as possible. Milicic is 7-feet and 250 pounds; Jenkins is generously listed at 6-1 and 180 pounds.
The play was spirited, though, and hugely entertaining to teammates, especially Elden Campbell, who lay stretched out on the scorer's table and provided playfully disdainful commentaries.
Like, for example, when Jenkins complained he should have gotten a foul call, Campbell countered, saying: "He does need his arms to shoot."
Seated at the far baseline, Darvin Ham watched the events unfold.
"Are you sleeping over there, Easy?" he yelled out to Campbell.
Rasheed Wallace kept an eye on things, too, and barked when he overheard Milicic use his patented phrase, "The ball don't lie," when Jenkins missed a shot. Wallace also urged Milicic on, yelling, "Kill him, Darko."
To his credit, Jenkins, a reserve guard not on the playoff roster, made several shots over Milicic, while Milicic at times became so frustrated at missing shots that he got pretty vocal.
"It's all in fun, though," Jenkins said. "When he gets mad, it's in Serbian. When he feels good, it's in English."
Milicic, the second overall pick in the 2003 draft, has said on more than one occasion that he would feel better if he got to play regularly. Asked if he is single-handedly working on getting Milicic into next season's rotation, Jenkins laughed.
"I hope so," he said. "I like Darko a lot. I just try to help him out. That guy's got a lot of potential, and I think if he just stays patient and continues to work hard, he's got a bright future ahead of him.
"I know it's frustrating because everybody wants to play, but at the same time he just has to be patient. He is playing behind guys who have been All-Stars, superstars in the league."
Jenkins has seen improvements in Milicic since training camp.
"Just his attitude," Jenkins said. "I thought earlier in the year he was a little more tentative. Maybe it's because of going against superstars, but at the same time, he's been getting a little more aggressive."
Jenkins said Milicic's skills have gotten better, specifically "him making post moves, he's a little more aggressive offensively and defensively. And just his instincts have gotten a lot better, to me."
Campbell sees the most improvement in how much stronger Milicic has gotten. Milicic turned 20 Monday.
"When he first got here, you could bang him around a little bit, but now you can't," Campbell said. "He holds his ground pretty good. That's probably where he made his most strides."
A big summer lies ahead for Milicic. He will spend July playing in the summer league and then try out with the Serbian national team for the European Championships in September