# How good is Darko?



## BigMike (Jun 12, 2002)

I've never seen him play before. All I know is what I've seen on SportsCenter once and read.



Can somebody who has seen him before give me a little sample of his game?


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

All I know is one game he exploded for 37 points


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## W1Z0C0Z (Jun 18, 2002)

I wish I knew how good this guy was... I know nothing about him. I've only heard a few little spots on Sportscenter. Ah well, I guess I'll learn soon enough.


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

I'll have the chance to see him this week at the Final 4 so I'll give you guys a scouting report if I find the time


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

Well his team Hemofarm played against Aris Salonica at the Champions Cup semifinal last night in Salonica, Greece which is Aris home.
Aris won and Milicic didn't really do much.
The player he reminds me of is Gregor ****a, the difference is that he doesn't look as mechanic as ****a looks sometimes and he looks like he will become a stronger player than ****a.
Now for those who have never seen ****a, this is how I would describe Milicic: imagine a taller version (not more than an inch taller though) of Toni Kukoc with the game of Pau Gasol. He's not quite the ballhandler that Gasol or Kukoc are but he has some great moves inside. He's a lefty and he has very long arms that make him look like Kevin McHale or Tim Duncan sometimes.
His defense also needs a lot of work. Darko was playing at the 5, but he looks like a natural 4 to me.
Aris frontcourt includes Ryan Stack (former NBA-er with the Cleveland Cavaliers) and Russian center Fedor Likholitov (who graduated from Virginia Commonwealth last year) who are both very athletic and caused a lot of problems to Darko.
Darko has a patented shot already like Kareem Abdul Jabbar but the problem is that after a while when Stack and Likholitov got used to it, they started to block him! Which means that he can't rely on that shot all the time.
He only shot a 3-pointer once when the time was expiring and he missed it, which means that his coach doesn't let him shoot from outside, but the fact is that he didn't show me any shooting skills similar to Nowitzki's.
Darko is a good team player, he likes to set up screens and he's a good passer.
He's still very young but the fact is that even though he's very talented the team sometimes looked better when he was not on the floor because his back-up played better defense.
I'd like to see him play some minutes at the 3 when he goes to the NBA, because I think he might be a better perimeter player than a post player. But I think his natural position is the 4.
His game does have some similarities to Vlade Divac, but if he goes to the NBA now (which is going to happen) he will have the chance to learn the game better playing against the best players in the world and become one of the top big men in the league.


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

I think I should also mention that there was a lot of pressure on Darko last night because of all the scouts that were at the game to watch him. And that might have affected his game, which is quite natural for a 17 year old.

Darko is a pretty good talent, but it's obvious when you see himplay that he's only a 17 year old kid.


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## starvydas (Jul 16, 2002)

qwertyu could you please post his stats in the Final 4?
Thank you


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

I'll try to find them Starvydas. He played better in the 2nd game even though he was in foul trouble again.

The competition in the tournament was better than expected and after watching the game I think they should put more teams from countries like Poland (and generally from Eastern Europe) in the Euroleague.


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

This is all I could find.
http://www.eurobasket.com/events/elfiba/02-03/el.asp

It only says that he scored 11 in the first game and 13 in the second game.


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## Zelena Hracka (Dec 16, 2002)

*Milicic in the Final 4*

Hemofarm-Aris:

In 17:03, 11p, 3/4 (1), 4/10 (2), 4(DR), 1(OR), 1(TO), 1 (St), TENDEX: 0.528. 

Hemofarm-Ventspils:

In 32:30, 13p, 5/8 (1), 4/10 (2), 7(DR), 4(OR), 3(TO), 3(As), 2(St), 2(Bl), TENDEX: 0.585.


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## starvydas (Jul 16, 2002)

Thanks guys. Your help is appreciated


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## bl611 (May 7, 2003)

So qwertyu: How would you compare him both in current skill level and potential to Lebron?


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