Pistons rookie Darko Milicic is trying to learn and to get better so he can play next year.

Larry Brown and his coaches have been working the first-year player hard and there has been slow but steady progress.  

Everything the 18-year-old does is scrutinized, adjusted, praised or modified, all with the hope of making the kid into a prime time player.

?I think that?s what makes Darko?s situation so unique. He?s in a man?s world, but in a lot of respects, he?s still a kid,? Pistons assistant coach Mike Woodson said.

It?s not been easy as the No. 2 pick overall and Milicic is still in many ways just a boy.