# Sophocles is a BEAST



## Balla123456789 (Jul 15, 2002)

dude looks stronger than the Daddy


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

yup, i'd love to land this guy...but i don't know if he's "worthy" of a top 5 pick...maybe if has amazing workouts. i'm very curious to see how high he can jump, size, speed, shot, etc.


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Balla123456789</b>!
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looks stronger than shaq when he came into the league. think its all natural?


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## digital jello (Jan 10, 2003)

Dude looks like an axe-murderer!


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## Lope31 (Jun 11, 2002)

Holy Moly that guy look strong! He kinda reminds me of Nene. Maybe it's just the untabbed brute strength.


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

One of his breasts alone are the weight/size of my head


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## suspect (Sep 10, 2002)

Yeah he is strong....Believe it or not but Popeye the Sailorman is his favorite comics....


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## SLiM9287 (Jul 2, 2002)

How tall?


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>SLiM9287</b>!
> How tall?


6'10 in shoes is the general concensus now. its possible he'll get a little taller since he's only 17.


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## bender (Jul 15, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Balla123456789</b>!
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Looks stronger than shaq? :no:


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## starvydas (Jul 16, 2002)

Considering he's only 18 he's really impressive. Look at that neck, it reminds me of a heavyweight boxer.


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## Balla123456789 (Jul 15, 2002)

*Sophocles Vs. Eddy*


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## Vinsanity (May 28, 2002)

he looks like a more muscular curry


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Vinsanity</b>!
> he looks like a more muscular curry


he doesn't quite have the height or the armspan. i'll have to wait and see about the athleticism...curry is a bit of a freak.


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## Koos (Apr 23, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Vinsanity</b>!
> he looks like a more muscular curry


more muscular... yes, but from what i've read he doesn't have the touch or offensive game curry does

would i still like to see denver trade into late lotto to grab him after they grab their top 3 guy...:yes:


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## Koos (Apr 23, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Balla123456789</b>!
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looks mean as hell to, draft him for the intimidation factor alone...


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## pharcyde (Jun 22, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Balla123456789</b>!
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Is it just me, or does he look a little bit like Charles Oakley?


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## Koos (Apr 23, 2003)

yeah, kinda... it sounds like he has the same kind of work ethic too, at least in the gym


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

neva mind sounds it looks like he works damn hard in da gym.
     
S C A R Y !


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## Koos (Apr 23, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>skip_dawg!</b>!
> neva mind sounds it looks like he works damn hard in da gym.
> 
> S C A R Y !


true true, my bad


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## DaBigTicketKG21 (Apr 27, 2003)

Damn, in a few years, he could be battling Shaq in the low post like a real man should. Shaq hasnt had a rival that could hold him back one-on-one. Yao tried, but Shaq was just way too powerful. If his work ethic is good and he develops some great low post moves, he could move up in 2004.


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## Koos (Apr 23, 2003)

just think if you had a team where he was with yao or eddy curry

shaq would never get a breather:yes:


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## Knicksbiggestfan (Apr 29, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>DaBigTicketKG21</b>!
> Damn, in a few years, he could be battling Shaq in the low post like a real man should. Shaq hasnt had a rival that could hold him back one-on-one. Yao tried, but Shaq was just way too powerful. If his work ethic is good and he develops some great low post moves, he could move up in 2004.



If yao bulks up his size alone will help to handle shaq. If such a thing can be done. Yao's legs are already huge.


This guy as it is now is a probably around 80 pounds lighter than shaq and four inches shorter. It'll take him serious work before he can be a threat to the daddy.


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## Knicksbiggestfan (Apr 29, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>DaBigTicketKG21</b>!
> Damn, in a few years, he could be battling Shaq in the low post like a real man should. Shaq hasnt had a rival that could hold him back one-on-one. Yao tried, but Shaq was just way too powerful. If his work ethic is good and he develops some great low post moves, he could move up in 2004.



If yao bulks up his size alone will help to handle shaq. If such a thing can be done. Yao's legs are already huge.


This guy as it is now is a probably around 80 pounds lighter than shaq and four inches shorter. It'll take him serious work before he can be a threat to the daddy.


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## Amareca (Oct 21, 2002)

In the Video Clip he looks rather slow and overweight than muscualar and athletic.

I would rather compare him to a rawer and possibly little taller version of Zach Randolph when he entered the league.


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## starvydas (Jul 16, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>BigAmare</b>!
> In the Video Clip he looks rather slow and overweight than muscualar and athletic.
> 
> I would rather compare him to a rawer and possibly little taller version of Zach Randolph when he entered the league.


That is actually a good comparison. Like Randolph, Schortsianitis is a good rebounder on the offensive end, has a good hands and shoots at a high FG percentage. Like randolph he does not block shots and is a sub-par defender for now.


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## Koos (Apr 23, 2003)

but he's much more muscular than randolph...

even if he's randolph + an inch and 20 lbs i still think he would be a good late lotto pickup for a team cause randolph's a decent player


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## Siouxperior (Jan 15, 2003)

What?

Zach Randolph is 6'9 even in bare feet
{http://www.mrhoops.com/columns/Bob_Richards/2002/245.shtml}


Sophocles is 6'8 1/2 in bare feet


> July 13, 1999
> *One of the more interesting aspects of the Nike Camp is the accurate measurements of all the players in attendance. Players are measured in their bare feet*, and height, weight, wingspan and reach are all recorded. The following are the measurements of some of the prospects of interest to Purdue. I will be updating the stats under their player profiles later.
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I can't really say anyting on 'baby-shaq' , Because I've never seen him..but if he had game like Zach Randolph, he'd avg. more than 9 ppg in Greece.. JMHO
Going by his size (6'9 280), and scouting reports, he sounds like Jahadi White to me


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## Koos (Apr 23, 2003)

siouxperior...

i was goin by his listed height of 6'10" (in shoes)




> Originally posted by <b>starvydas</b>!
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> That is actually a good comparison. Like Randolph, Schortsianitis is a good rebounder on the offensive end, has a good hands and shoots at a high FG percentage. Like randolph he does not block shots and is a sub-par defender for now.


and we've said he has the same type of game as randolph

nobody was dissin randolph...calm down...breath


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

I've been watching Sofoklis all year and I can't help but notice the improvement he has made in every aspect of his game.
He might not have the height of a top center, but I'm confident now that he has everything that is required to become a good player in the NBA.
He has the work-ethic and the skills and the last two weeks he has been scoring 15 points and grabbing 8 rebounds on a constant basis.
I know there will be a lot of doubters, but from what I've seen I think he will surprise a lot of teams when the private work-outs begin.


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## Knicksbiggestfan (Apr 29, 2003)

Anyone know an approximation of his vertical leap?


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Knicksbiggestfan</b>!
> Anyone know an approximation of his vertical leap?


i don't think its anything too freakish but it looks very good for his weight (285). in the vid he's probably jumping 24 inches or so. i'd guess his max would be around 30.


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## ltrain99 (Apr 27, 2003)

Well atleast if basketball doenst work out he cna be a powerlifter:laugh:


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## Vince Carter (Jan 9, 2003)

First of it's Sofoklis Schortsianitis second of all man that guy is huge, I don't think he's worth top five like Skywalker said for to10 that's for sure.


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

yeah, i think he'll go from 5-10.


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## Bball_Doctor (Dec 29, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>qwertyu</b>!
> I've been watching Sofoklis all year and I can't help but notice the improvement he has made in every aspect of his game.
> He might not have the height of a top center, but I'm confident now that he has everything that is required to become a good player in the NBA.
> He has the work-ethic and the skills and the last two weeks he has been scoring 15 points and grabbing 8 rebounds on a constant basis.
> I know there will be a lot of doubters, but from what I've seen I think he will surprise a lot of teams when the private work-outs begin.


I have seen Sofo only a couple times and I believe we have talked about him before in another thread. It sounds like he has really improved since then and I haven't seen anything new of him for quite some time. Can you answer some questions for me? How much has his offensive skills improved in the last 2 months and has he improved his shotblocking at all becuz he blocks a ridiculous amount of shots for a player with his presence. His defensive intimidation would be far greater if he improves on that aspect combined with his obvious strength and size.


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

european style of play may have kept him from being overly agressive on the defensive end. he probably doesn't jump at any pump fakes though. in the nba he'll be allowed to be more physical but will he ever be a good shotblocker?


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## Peja Vu (Jun 9, 2002)

Did anyone see the piece on him in Sports Illustrated? It says that he appears to be a second-round pick and one scout said "he's listed at 6'10'', but he's really a 6'8'', undersized big man, like Carlos Boozer or Lonny Baxter- and both of those guys were second-round picks."


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Hedo - - He Do!!!</b>!
> Did anyone see the piece on him in Sports Illustrated? It says that he appears to be a second-round pick and one scout said "he's listed at 6'10'', but he's really a 6'8'', undersized big man, like Carlos Boozer or Lonny Baxter- and both of those guys were second-round picks."


he's over 6'8 and has been confirmed "by an american doctor" to be 6'10 with shoes on. i don't expect him to be any shorter than elton brand and he was a #1 pick (just to show that players of comparable size doesn't really matter).


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## GreekStyler (Apr 30, 2003)

on the nba official early entry list he is listed as 6 foot 9. Is that with or without shoes??? regardless he is undersized and this is likely to push him out of the lottery.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>GreekStyler</b>!
> on the nba official early entry list he is listed as 6 foot 9. Is that with or without shoes??? regardless he is undersized and this is likely to push him out of the lottery.


Since when is 6'9" undersized for a NBA PF?

Most teams barely have a decent player who is truly over 6'10" ...


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## Knicksbiggestfan (Apr 29, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Dee Bo</b>!
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> Since when is 6'9" undersized for a NBA PF?
> ...


No kidding our "center" is 6'8 in shoes. The thing that exicted me most about this guy his work ethic and size. Charles barkley was like 6'5 and Elton Brand is 6'8.


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## H2O (Jul 10, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Knicksbiggestfan</b>!
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> No kidding our "center" is 6'8 in shoes. The thing that exicted me most about this guy his work ethic and size. Charles barkley was like 6'5 and Elton Brand is 6'8.


And Alanzo Mourning is 6'-9", Ben Wallace probably 6'6". People are way to obsessed with physical attributes these days, to the point that they forget to notice whether or not any of these guys can actually play basketball. Desagna Diop, case in point.


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## Tom (Jul 15, 2002)

Poor man's Kwame Brown. he is a beast too.


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## Knicksbiggestfan (Apr 29, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Tom</b>!
> Poor man's Kwame Brown. he is a beast too.


He is orders of magnitude stronger, has a great work ethic, and has played proffessional level basketball for more than 4 years, granted it's in the greek league but I am sure anyone of them can beat a US highschool team. Further from all indications he weighs 40-50 pounds more.


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## Tom (Jul 15, 2002)

all the highlights i see remind me of Othella..which i'm sure you can relate too...i hope the Knicks don't waste there pick on him.



I will admit i have been wrong before...but i doubt it.


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Tom</b>!
> all the highlights i see remind me of Othella..which i'm sure you can relate too...i hope the Knicks don't waste there pick on him.
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where have you been getting highlights? i can relate to the othella stigma but what have you been seeing that turns you off?
the only highlight i've seen (power dunking) looks NOTHING like O.


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## ira (May 3, 2003)

> Originally posted by
> 
> i hope the Knicks don't waste there pick on him.


NY post seems to have different opinion  and puts him even in number 9 spot

BTW where is this video everyone is talking about ?


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## suspect (Sep 10, 2002)

Here is the vid ira
http://www.sport.gr/basket/euro2003/021123/gre.mpg
By the way here is pic of Sofoklis throwin it down....


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## ^__^ (Jan 12, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>hellbot</b>!
> One of his breasts alone are the weight/size of my head


if one of his breasts alone are about the size of your head, then you must have the smallest head in the history of human civilization.
by the way, accoring to numerous of sources hes closer to 6-8 than 6-10, i read an article at euroe-basket.com it says his height is 201 so its 6-7.
most nba team do exeggerate their player's height from 1 inch to sometimes 4 inch so he might be listed at 6-8 or even 6-9 when he arrive in nba but no way is he 6-10.


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

i'm betting that he's taller than elton brand though


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>^__^</b>!
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> if one of his breasts alone are about the size of your head, then you must have the smallest head in the history of human civilization.
> ...


Buddy it was a joke.easy!


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## TMOD (Oct 12, 2002)

He is (officially, without a doubt) 6'8.5 without shoes.


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## Balla123456789 (Jul 15, 2002)

*That is the Same As Gooden . Stoudemire , and Haislip*

without shoes


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

He's taller than that, I can assure you about that. I was watching him this saturday and he seems to have grown.


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>qwertyu</b>!
> He's taller than that, I can assure you about that. I was watching him this saturday and he seems to have grown.


how are you not posting about his permances that you watch? is he taller than 6'10 in shoes in your estimation?


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

I am. I've posted in the "Other pro leagues" forum.


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

Anyway here's the link.

http://www.basketballboards.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30230&perpage=15&pagenumber=2

1) I'm not very sure about Schortsianitis height. But the truth is that he's not very tall. I was watching him against Kouvaris of Iraklio who is a legit 7-footer and he looked a lot shorter than him.
2) About the blocks, I don't know.. he probably doesn't have long hands. Another answer might be that he doesn't have the right timing. He usually pushes players out of the paint with his strength. He likes to play defense and to rebound but I've never seen him jump in order to block a shot. But usually the players he guards don't try to shoot because his defense is very physical and it makes it difficult for them to keep the ball for too long.
3) He has no shooting touch. He only dunks and scores from inside the paint. But he's a good free throw shooter so I guess he can shoot, he just hasn't been given the opportunity to become an outside shooter.

Anyway I was watching the game today between Iraklis and Paok and Sofoklis seems to have grown (which is very normal for a kid of his age.
I also saw him for the first time score some baskets from outside the paint which shows that he has improved a lot.
I didn't watch the whole game because I didn't have time, but after seeing him play the way he played tonight I will be shocked if he's not a lottery pick.

I watched the whole game.....Sofoklis seems indeed to have grown (i taped the game just to check out his height).........The thing is that he slouches a lot (when running the court and playing D).. however when he had his back straight up he looked pretty big (he is clearly above 6-8 as some people say)....
Indeed he seems to have been working on his jumper.... I noticed during halftime that he was working a lot on it.......
He has shown tremendous improvement thoughout the year...
And to Greekstyler he didn't play more because he got injured (nothing serious though it will not affect his draft status)....... I will be surprised if he is not a lottery pick.... Right now he is probably even better than Darko....And I'm sure he's gonna work hard in order to succeed.......
By the way it's scary that someone that young can have a bodystructure like that......He's got to be in the NT in Sweden.... just imagine he will scare the **** out of the opponents....


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

The last paragraph belongs to suspect and I kinda agree with him. Sofoklis is a better player than Milicic.


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## GreekStyler (Apr 30, 2003)

22pts (10 -12 2p fg) 5 reb for sofokles in most recent game in greek league. The kid can play!. He is much much better than Sweetney.


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## ira (May 3, 2003)

fulls stats here ;-)

28:29 mins
22 points 
2/4 ftree thr 
10/12 2p 
5 rib.
2 assists
0.843 tendex

for the full years stats 
http://www.galanissportsdata.com/basket/MenA1/Season2002_03/a1teamrs.asp?t=04 


someone said he is 201cm.... absolutely not. he seems to be about 208cm (with shoes)


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## GreekStyler (Apr 30, 2003)

208 and apparently still growing!


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## bigalw1414 (May 20, 2003)

"3) He has no shooting touch. He only dunks and scores from inside the paint. But he's a good free throw shooter so I guess he can shoot, he just hasn't been given the opportunity to become an outside shooter."

NBAdraft.net has him listed as a 60% free throw shooter but also says he has range out to 16-18 feet. This may be outdated though. He might have improved his free throw shooting since the scouting report.


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## ira (May 3, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>bigalw1414</b>!
> "3) He has no shooting touch. He only dunks and scores from inside the paint. But he's a good free throw shooter so I guess he can shoot, he just hasn't been given the opportunity to become an outside shooter."


i have to say that you are out of your mind !!!!! 
where did you get this ideas ???? it`s the completely opposite!

he is AWFULL in free throws (maybe that`s where he get the baby shaq nick ;-) ) i think he is around 50% !
but he can shoot around the paint 
in the last game he scored half of his points shooting ouside the paint...


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## Siouxperior (Jan 15, 2003)

In todays ESPN Insider, Darko Milicic swears Sophocles is barely 6'8


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## ira (May 3, 2003)

maybe he is right 

but i don`t know how he is so certain since this two haven`t played in the same court


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## bigalw1414 (May 20, 2003)

Am I just naive or is there really that big of a difference in the play of a 6'8" player and a 6'10" player? Considering his size I don't think he'll be overpowered by too many other players two inches taller than him. Plus, he's young so he may still grow a little.


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>bigalw1414</b>!
> Am I just naive or is there really that big of a difference in the play of a 6'8" player and a 6'10" player? Considering his size I don't think he'll be overpowered by too many other players two inches taller than him. Plus, he's young so he may still grow a little.


with that body, as long as he has long arms he'll be fine. i'm pretty certain they're pretty long, maybe not elton brand long, but pretty long. he's a stud that'll probably make a decent bang as an 18 yr old on the right team.


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## nybus54 (Feb 21, 2003)

Man i hope denver can get him!!!!!!!!!


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