<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">EAST RUTHERFORD -- Nets president Rod Thorn came into the locker room the other day, walked over to Mile Ilic, squeezed his arm and said, "It's getting bigger." Ilic won't be measured by his basketball skills this season as much as by how his body develops. The Nets, who beat the Celtics, 109-107, in preseason action Tuesday night at Continental Arena, brought Ilic over from Serbia and Montenegro so they can work with him daily and put more muscle on his 7-foot-2 frame. When he's not practicing, the Nets' 2005 second-round pick is in the weight room or doing strength drills on the court with strength and conditioning coach Rich Dalatri. One drill requires Ilic to throw a medicine ball straight in the air three times before dunking a basketball. Ilic, 22, is a willing worker. He sweats up a storm every day, even though he'll likely dress in civilian attire on most game nights this season. "I understand I have to wait," the rookie said. "I can be patient. I need muscle and patience." The Nets are treating Ilic the same way they did Nenad Krstic when he was a rookie in 2004. They've been pleased with Ilic's work ethic. Ilic works after practice with shooting coach Bob Thate and on his post game with assistant coach Bill Cartwright. Ilic also comes in to work on off-days. "He's putting forth great effort," coach Lawrence Frank said. "He's making great gains in the weight room. Hopefully down the road those will transfer onto the basketball court."</div> Source
He is like Krstic in terms of size. They both need to bulk more in order to be more effective on both ends of the floor. We already have a stick PF in Mikki Moore, so we need some muscle upfront.
