| Nets' real-life Borat navigates North Jersey |
Wherever Mile Ilic goes in America, people stop and ask whether he plays basketball. His reply stuns them more than the sight of the 7-foot-2 Serbian approaching them.
"I say I play bowling or I play chess or I play soccer or I play checkers," said Ilic, a U.S. resident for only four months. "They say, 'Really? Wow.' "
Recently, Ilic answered his phone and, in his heavy Eastern European accent, said, "It's Frank Sinatra." Ilic has confused friends back home -- who don't recognize his New Jersey cellphone number. He's called, saying he's a Serbian leader who has, in fact, been dead for centuries.
The Nets' real-life Borat is a funny young man who greets people with a smile or wink and speaks English remarkably well. But adjusting to life in a new country hasn't been all fun and games for the rookie center.
Ilic, 22, has spent many lonely nights here. He lived in a Bergen County hotel for two months, without a car or driver's license because of a lengthy wait for a Social Security number. He was homesick, calling family and friends in Serbia and Bosnia every day.
The Nets' 2005 second-round pick also spends many game nights glued to the bench.
Ilic works before and after practices and shootarounds with the coaches. The Nets are trying to develop Ilic's body and game, as they did fellow Serb Nenad Krstic when he arrived in 2004. They're happy with Ilic's progress.
Not playing has been difficult for Ilic - he's been active in 23 of 36 games, and is scoreless in four minutes of NBA action. But he's dealing with it better since a friendly, familiar face has shown up to support him.
Ilic's sister, Slavica, came here from Serbia more than a month ago and will stay as long as her brother wants.
"I'm here to help my brother," Slavica said. "I take care of him, cook, clean, talk to him about basketball, because I played abroad and I know what it's like to be alone abroad."
Slavica, a former professional basketball player overseas, tells Ilic to be patient, that his time will come.
The mere mention of Slavica brings a wide smile to Ilic's face, more so when the subject turns to her cooking his favorite Serbian dishes.
"I need that," he said. "For the first two months, I needed everything. In Serbia I had food, family and friends. Now I have food and her, but I still need friends."
Krstic and Slovenia's Bostjan Nachbar speak Ilic's language. They've helped Ilic and taken him to their favorite restaurants.
"Everything is new for you," said Krstic, who was in Ilic's shoes in 2004 and leaned on then-Net Zoran Planinic. "You start a new life. I'm getting used to it. I think Mile is picking up very quickly."
Ilic is doing it lately without Krstic. He's out for the season after tearing his ACL. But Ilic has learned through experience.
Tired of room service, Ilic took a cab to a Route 17 Wendy's one fall night.
"He said 35 dollars for taxi," Ilic said of the driver. "I said 35? It's maybe two miles. I paid. I didn't do that again."
He doesn't have to anymore.
Ilic got his Social Security number, license and a new Audi Q7 with a navigation system so he doesn't get lost. He also moved into a West New York apartment that overlooks Manhattan. Living in America has improved.
"I have my freedom," Ilic said. "I have my car. I'm in my apartment. You can sleep whenever you want. Nobody wakes you and knocks and says, 'Housekeeping.' "
When he's not practicing, surfing the Web or playing PlayStation 3, Ilic watches movies, listing "Scarface" and "Eurotrip" as his favorites.
With Slavica here, this is the happiest Ilic has been in America, although he wishes he was playing more.
"It's really hard," said Ilic, who wants to be "a complete player" like his idol Vlade Divac. "It's not physically hard. It's mentally hard. Some days I wake up and say, 'What am I doing?' I work hard and I don't play. Then after about a half-hour I say, 'OK, work, maybe in a month, two months, next year I'll play.' "
When he's asked then whether he plays basketball, Ilic may say he plays squash or tennis. It's good for him that his sense of humor made it through customs.
Used courtesy of: Bergen Record |
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