<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">ORLANDO - Crunch time and Darko Milicic was on the court. Yep, that Darko Milicic: Garbage Time Darko, Bench-Warming Milicic. He had subbed in with the Orlando Magic down 18 with about eight minutes left. Six minutes later, the Magic had cut the Houston Rockets lead to four and Milicic was on the court for every second of the comeback. Just a couple of days earlier, in his first home game in Orlando after getting shipped from Detroit, the forward-center had eight points, five rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes against Seattle. For the first time in his three-year career, which began as the No.2 pick of the 2003 draft, Milicic may be making the case that he is a legitimate NBA player. "That's why I come here: to play," said Milicic, in fluent English accented with an Eastern European cadence. Since the Pistons drafted Milicic as an 18-year-old Serbian - unknown to most American fans, but fawned over by international scouts who ogled him like he was Angelina Jolie with a jump-hook - Milicic has been everything but a contributing member of an NBA team. He was a Detroit pariah - viewed as a stiff drafted behind LeBron James, and in front of Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh (Olympians and All-Stars). He was a joke. If he entered a blowout, it would inevitably show up on Sportscenter with one of the anchors hailing a "Darko Sighting." Fans called Milicic the "Human Victory Cigar," because if Darko was on the court the outcome was sealed. He was and is a mystery. Magic coach Brian Hill was asked if, while out of coaching the past couple of years, he kept track of Milicic's career. The question made him laugh. "I never saw him play," Hill said. Neither did fans. Milicic averages six minutes per game for his career. For two-plus seasons with the Pistons he played for a team of veterans contending for a championship, not a rebuilding squad like most players drafted that high. All-Stars were ahead of him on the depth chart. And his former coach, Larry Brown, is not known for his patience nursing developing talent, especially not during a championship run. Milicic called his 21/2 seasons with the Pistons "a nightmare." A pro at 14, expectations grow The 7-foot Milicic came up through the Eastern European ranks just as every NBA team was searching for the next Dirk Nowitzki or Peja Stojakovich. At 14, Milicic became the youngest professional in the former Yugoslavia's history. Within two years he was promoted to a senior roster where he was playing with grown men. Soon, a legend grew and NBA scouts followed. In 2003, a couple of months before the draft, longtime NBA writer David Dupree wrote this in USA Today: "He has long arms like Garnett, is comfortable outside and inside, is an expert ballhandler and a deft passer. ... Milicic is a rugged inside player, and being the rare left-hander gives him another advantage. He runs the floor well, can start, finish or lead the fast break, dunk in traffic, step out and hit the three, take his man off the dribble or simply post up and use one of his many inside moves." Other than Yao Ming, no international player had ever garnered as much hype. Leading up to the draft, he was a lock for the No.2 pick behind James and ahead of Anthony, who had just captivated America in his freshman year at Syracuse with one of the most precocious NCAA Tournament performances in recent memory. The Pistons had just finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference and were on the cusp of a league championship. General manager Joe Dumars, who had crafted a contender out of castaways, chose Milicic, the first of 10 foreign players selected that year. He said Milicic would be a cornerstone years down the line. Later that season, Dumars picked up Rasheed Wallace, the last piece of the championship puzzle. The Pistons shocked the Lakers and won the 2004 championship, with little help from Milicic. What made Milicic's circumstances ripe for ridicule was that his ineptitude was surrounded by excellence. When he would get in, he'd anxiously jack up shots, not knowing whether it would be a month before his next chance. He seemed unsure and raw. And, perhaps more than any other factor, Milicic's fellow 2003 draftees made him look like Rob Schneider in a scene with Johnny Depp and Russell Crowe. Critics wondered how much better Detroit might be with Anthony or Wade or Bosh. The ridicule and lack of playing time got to Milicic. Hedo Turkoglu, one of his new Orlando teammates, said Milicic contemplated returning to Europe.</div> Source
