Darko? Tick off a coach? Nahhhhhhhhh. Not our Darko. Never ever ever. Not in a million years! Just wouldn't happen. Nope. No sireeee Bob.
Not Darko. That will be the day that we see before we hear about Darko getting on the wrong side of the coach.


Seriously though, that really stinks. It just figures.

Serbia eliminated 74-71. Darko played 9 seconds.

__________________
Momma was queen of the mambo, Poppa was king of the congo, deep down in the jungle, I start banging my first bongo
Every monkey like to be, in my place instead of me, cause I'm the king of bongo baby, I'm the king of bongo bong
-Manu Chao

Darko Milicic, Serbia Montenegro
Stats: 6.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
The skinny: The Detroit Pistons backup center is having more of an impact than was expected of him. He isn't too concerned with getting his share of shots. His performance against Israel -- 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 15 minutes -- should be shown to Flip Saunders (and Larry Brown) so that he knows what he has on his bench.
Grade: B+


(Not sure if anyone posted this already).

I have a funny feeling Darko's EBC stats won't escape Flip's notice. Nor Joe's for that matter.

Is the young man beginning to show signs of Piston DNA. I'm liking this defense first attitude. The best thing about the block was Darko went after the guy with the intention to swat that shot.

Got this from Draft Express:

Jonathan Givony

One of the more intriguing early signs coming out of this Eurobasket tournament so far is the apparent rejuvenation of the #2 pick in the 2003 draft, Darko Milicic. After two listless seasons seeing little to no playing time in Detroit's stacked rotation, Darko is beginning to show signs of coming around this summer with his national team by displaying a high level of performance and energy, while, most importantly, being a difference maker for his team in his time out on the floor.

While he's had to scrap and earn every minute he's gotten so far, and even though his teammates still don't appear to trust him enough to actually pass him the ball unless he is really wide open, Darko has found a way to make his presence felt repeatedly for Serbia and Montenegro and show some of the awesome athletic ability and upside that made him the #2 pick to begin with.

Darko has been coming off the bench so far backing up, and often outplaying, New Jersey Nets Center Nenad Krstic. His biggest contributions for his team have been felt mostly on the defensive end and on the glass, where he's been using his mobility and explosiveness to block and alter countless shots around the rim and come up with many momentum changing rebounds on both ends that have been extremely influential for the Serbians in key parts of the games.

Against Israel in the 2nd game, Milicic came off the bench in the 4th quarter with the result of the game still up in the air and sparked a 20-0 run that put the game out of hand for the Israelis. Darko's energy on both ends of the floor were clearly the difference for his team, finishing the game with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks in only 14 minutes of action. He finished well around the hoop, knocked down a jumper and got to the line repeatedly.

The best sign for Detroit, beyond his newfound aggressiveness and urgency, has to be Darko's willingness to mix things up inside and do the little things to endear himself to his team. Whether it’s by setting solid picks, demanding the ball around the basket rather than on the perimeter, moving off the ball and using his height and passing ability to find the open man, Darko has been extremely active and energetic in everything he’s trying to do.

He's struggling a bit in the set offense when it comes to placing himself, but this time it’s not because of a lack of effort. His positioning is not the best, and he doesn't seem too confident at times about knowing what to do and how to move, particularly against zone defenses.

The Detroit Free Press finally got off its butt and wrote a story, once they had something negative. As for the "inconsistent" tag they put on Darko's play? It's a better description of their own lazy coverage. They couldn't even call one of their team contacts for a quote, preferring to fall back on the Draft Express writeup.

http://www.freep.com/sports/pistons/...e_20050921.htm

Yeah i noticed that about the Free Press.Why do they only report b.s about Darko?.Why don't they show the whole stats.Darko only averaged 10 min per game & was 2nd leading rebounder & leading shotblocker on team.Why they always dawg the guy.In my opinion Darko played the best out of all serb big men.Zelly & especially Krstic sucked.I think these free press reporters have a job in talking b.s about Darko cause maybe they want him traded.

I'm with you. Whose butt does Krstic kiss, anyway? He had about three or four really solid games throughout the friendlies and Eurobasket, but he gets all of the playing time and hardly any of the criticism. If he is such a good team guy, why doesn't he do more of the dirty work with defense and rebounding?

Answer=because Krstic although talented on offense is slow footed and ca't recover back on deffense like Darko.Even Zelly suprisingly sucked on deffense in the euro's.I really don't have the answer why Darko wasn't played in the elimination game,although the coach cussed out few players in post game conference,but didn't mention names.Didn't larry brown say something simmilar about 2004 usa olympic team?.