Anyone remember Marko Milic?

Alyosha12 · Post #1 » by **Alyosha12** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 10:55 am

Any of you long time Suns fans remember a player named Marko Milic?

He played for the suns in the 97/98 season and 98/99 season. He was the guy that jumped over a car in a dunk contest

Here is a vid of him when he was 18/19:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp7Y5D-HJR0

He was actually the first Slovenian player to make it to the NBA, and what i remember from him then is that physically he was gifted enough to make it in the NBA as a SF. So what went wrong? Was he just to young when he went to the NBA, was he really not that good, or was it simply the fact that he made it in the NBA when Euro players weren't played and trusted as much as they are today.
Based on his stats here;
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... cma01.html

he played well when he got the chance, he shot a good % and he filled the stat sheet really quickly. And going from that vid i posted and the fact he was 18/19 in it, i bet he would be a lotto pick in todays league, what do you think?

Itmotep · Post #2 » by **Itmotep** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:44 pm

Of course, I loved Marko when I was a kid. I have a lot of Suns stuff (If you have not seen) and all my late 90s stuff includes him

.

Alyosha12 · Post #3 » by **Alyosha12** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 1:24 pm

Itmotep wrote:Of course, I loved Marko when I was a kid. I have a lot of Suns stuff (If you have not seen) and all my late 90s stuff includes him .

So why do you think he didn't last in the league?

garrick · Post #4 » by **garrick** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 3:32 pm

He played alright from what I remember but what stands out for me is that he never showed that athleticism that he displayed in Europe while with the Suns. He had the hops but seemed to play quite reserved for whatever reason.

jolbin · Post #5 » by **jolbin** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 6:40 pm

I remember him..
This might have something to do with the fact that i am Slovenian;)

I am pretty sure he would be a top 5 pick in current NBA..
He was tearing the Euroleague up at age of 18.. Now Matiejunas will be close to top 5 and hasnt achieved anything..

Alyosha12 · Post #6 » by **Alyosha12** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 7:15 pm

jolbin wrote:I remember him..
This might have something to do with the fact that i am Slovenian;)

I am pretty sure he would be a top 5 pick in current NBA..
He was tearing the Euroleague up at age of 18.. Now Matiejunas will be close to top 5 and hasnt achieved anything..

Yup and i agree, plus he would have gotten a much bigger chance to showcase his talent.

Every time he got more then 10 minutes he played well, at least thats what the stats show, so i really wanted to hear someone who actually saw him play give their opinion what went wrong.

jolbin · Post #7 » by **jolbin** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 7:47 pm

Well, i think that Marko didnt really have a big chance to suceed in NBA.. He is undersized for a PF, while his outside game was always just to bad to be full time SF..

Alyosha12 · Post #8 » by **Alyosha12** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:06 pm

jolbin wrote:Well, i think that Marko didnt really have a big chance to suceed in NBA.. He is undersized for a PF, while his outside game was always just to bad to be full time SF..

Actually at the start of his career he was a very able SF, he had an OK stroke from the 3pt line, it was only after he gained a lot of muscle mass did his shot go away. When he was young he played exclusively as a SF it is only now in the last years of his career he is playing as a PF.