Look to Wright for shooting, Ilic for size Published in the Asbury Park Press 06/30/05 BY HARRY FREZZA JR. STAFF WRITER - advertisements - EAST RUTHERFORD — Antoine Wright was a little late in arriving at the New Jersey Nets' practice facility in East Rutherford where he was to be officially introduced as the team's No. 1 draft pick Wednesday morning. Instead, Wright went to Continental Airlines Arena a couple of miles away where he will be playing his home games this winter, hopefully hitting long-range shots and playing the tenacious defense that led to Nets' officials taking him with their first-round pick and 15th overall in Tuesday's NBA Draft. "We were a little late because we went straight to the arena — we got a little lost and didn't know too much about this place," said the 6-foot-7, 210-pound swingman from Texas A&M. "Hey, I'm ready to get going and get to work." Wright and 7-foot-1, 230-pound Serbian center Mile Ilic, taken 43rd overall in the second round, both met the media at the Nets' practice facility along with chief executive officer Rod Thorn, general manager Ed Stefanski and head coach Lawrence Frank. Both players are 21. Nets' officials talked about the importance of improving their perimeter shooting and upgrading their bench with Wright, who averaged 17.8 points and six rebounds per game last year, his junior year at A&M. He also shot 44.7 percent from 3-point range. They said that Ilic filled their need for bigger players. Ilic, unlike Wright, probably won't play for the Nets until the 2006-2007 season. He said through a interpreter that he will return to play for BC Relfex in Serbia, which he's played for since the 2002-2003 season. "He's an athletic guy, but he needs to improve his strength," said Thorn, adding that Ilic will be working with the team's strength coaches in the next few weeks. "Hopefully he'll be like (Nets' center/forward Nenad) Krstic. We needed and a got a bigger player. We're a small team right now." The Nets also needed better shooters, something Thorn is confident Wright can provide. http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050630/SPORTS/506300549/1002/NEWS03 --

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