Ricky Rubio

[wolfpackdevil]

For those of you who watched the Olympics, and most of the basketball games, you might have noticed one of the best prospects in international basketball ever, Ricky Rubio, the 17 year old phenom in Spain. He played a ton yesterday in the gold medal game vs. the USA because of the Colderon injury.

Now needless to say he did not lead Spain to a gold medal, nor did he dominat the game. But he did have 6 points and 3 assists in 28 minutes of a gold medal game in the Olympics.

Now if he lived in the US, he would be a Senior in a High School this year, which is like sayin that John Wall or Derrick Favors would have been on the Olympic team this year, which is insane.

If Rubio keeps improoving at his age rate, he could come to America and be one of the best PG's ever in my mind, In about 4 years when hes 21.

Any thoughts??

[dukelifer]

For those of you who watched the Olympics, and most of the basketball games, you might have noticed one of the best prospects in international basketball ever, Ricky Rubio, the 17 year old phenom in Spain. He played a ton yesterday in the gold medal game vs. the USA because of the Colderon injury.

Now needless to say he did not lead Spain to a gold medal, nor did he dominat the game. But he did have 6 points and 3 assists in 28 minutes of a gold medal game in the Olympics.

Now if he lived in the US, he would be a Senior in a High School this year, which is like sayin that John Wall or Derrick Favors would have been on the Olympic team this year, which is insane.

If Rubio keeps improoving at his age rate, he could come to America and be one of the best PG's ever in my mind, In about 4 years when hes 21.

Any thoughts??

He is good and a smart layer but it is not clear how much better he will get. Right now he needs to get much much stronger- which will come with time. He is also not a very good shooter-at least not from what he showed in Bejing. He seems to have a little hitch in his stroke. To be one of the best ever- he will need to have a very reliable outside shot. But there is not question that he is a heady defender (maybe his best attribute) and a excellent passer. I think he will be a talent to be reckoned with- but the current standard is a super quick guard like Paul or a stronger guard like Deron Williams or Derrick Rose (who at about the age as Ricky was pretty impressive himself). Ricky Rubio may be like a Nash if he can improve his shot.

[weezie]

"The Spanish Pete Maravich."

[roywhite]

I think I'd take Derrick Rose over Rubio in their matchups in 2012 and beyond. The young guard that impressed me most in the Olympics was Patrick Mills of Australia, who plays for St. Mary's in California.

[mgtr]

The young guard that impressed me most in the Olympics was Patrick Mills of Australia, who plays for St. Mary's in California.

I agree completely, and Mills may cause opponents a lot of grief this year. However, Mills is 2 or 3 years older than Rubio. Rubio could improve a lot over those years.

[dukeimac]

Keep in mind Rubio has already played 3 years in a pro league in Europe.

[roywhite]

Keep in mind Rubio has already played 3 years in a pro league in Europe.

It's a reasonable area of discussion as to whether young players (say 16-20 years old) in the US are being developed properly. The AAU circuit in the summer exposes them to a high level of competition, but sometimes the coaching is not good and the emphasis is on scoring, rather than team play and fundamentals.

And, in college, it's hard to defend the limits on organized practice time (yes, I realize they need time for class, study, and social life) and especially on contacts with coaches in the off-season. Would it make sense to an international observer to have a young prospect attending Duke University and be forbidden to have direct coaching from Coach K for over half the year?

There is still a talent gap between the US and the rest of the world (frankly much of it is due to the run/jump/quickness of black athletes who excel in the sport in this country, but that's a subject for another discussion), but the gap has narrowed. We should examine and perhaps change some policies regarding the development of young players.

[billybreen]

Now if he lived in the US, he would be a Senior in a High School this year, which is like sayin that John Wall or Derrick Favors would have been on the Olympic team this year, which is insane.

That would be insane, but I don't think it's a fair comparison. The talent pool in the US is far broader and deeper, so it's unthinkable that a high school kid would make the Olympic team. Spain has a much smaller population over all and a less developed pool of basketball talent.

Would Rubio have made the US team this year? Not a chance.

[dukeimac]

I do agree that he wouldn't have made the USA team but I don't think you can under estimate the great experience he got playing with and against pros, both in the Europe league and in the O.

He may come into the NBA more prepared than guys like Koby and LeBron were but I'm not so sure he'll make a bigger impact than they are or will make.

Still I believe with another year of pro-Europe experience he will go very high in the draft next year. Apparently foreign guys don't have to wait until they are 19 to enter the draft.

Thus, I'm wondering what would happen if our juniors and seniors in high school jumped the pond for a year or so. Might they be able to jump into the pros at the age of 18.

[studdlee10]

Rubio is not fast/athletic enough to ever be a dominant PG in the NBA. Any and all comparisons to Pete Maravich need to stop. Outside of the flashiness, floppy hair, and skin color, there are little to no similarities between the two. Pistol Pete was one of the most gifted scorers/shooters in the history of basketball. Rubio was a bad enough shooter that USA doubled down with his man all game long...and he didn't make them pay. When I watch Rubio play, I see Shaun Livingston.

He's definitely a good player, don't get me wrong, but he does have the luxury of having the chance to play pro and international ball. Pure talent wise, I'll take John Wall (they are the same size), Brandon Knight, and Brandon Jennings over Rubio any day of the week. You can teach a player to make the right play and you can gain experience, but you can't gain athletcism.

[1Devil]

With all the Maravich hype, I expected much, much more. Nice crossover, but where's the outside shot?

In the US I assume he'd be a high major prospect, but I don't think he'd be getting drooled over more than any other top 10-20 player.

[hc5duke]

I didn't particularly pay attention to him, but a couple times I noticed he would make easy passes look hard. One particular sequence that stuck out was, he was passing the ball to someone out on the wing, and did this awkward underhand throw (I suppose Maravich-esque). It was completely unnecessary, and the second time he did it the defender was ready and Spain had a turnover. It looked like to me if he had just made a normal two handed pass, it wouldn't look as fancy, but he would have had time to react to the defender move...

[jimsumner]

"Rubio is not fast/athletic enough to ever be a dominant PG in the NBA."

Is Steve Nash?

Agree that the Maravich comparisions are way over the top.

[Diddy]

Rubio looked fantastic. For a seventeen year old, he was phenomenal. He only scored six points? How many other seventeen year olds would even get off a shot against the type of D he saw in the olympics. LeBron, D-Wade, and Paul are not great Defenders in the NBA, but they were playing all out on D in Beijing. They really tried to put the clamps down, and couldn't. Rose, who is being used as a comparison, is nearly 20 (being old for a Frosh last year). This year's Rose, John Wall, is a fifth year HS senior, so he is at least 18, and may well turn 19 as a HS Senior.

Rubio will be fantastic in the NBA. If you could plug him into any top 20 NCAA school, he would start at PG, and I am including UNC and Lawson in that statement. He is a very good athlete, and has great vision, and a great handle. That Handle is what is drawing the Pistol Pete comparisons. PP was a great shooter, but compared to his dribbling ability his shooting ability was mediocre.

Does he need 10-15 lbs of muscle? Yes. How many 17 year olds don't need some time in the weightroom? Plug Rubio in at Duke nest year and we are a NC lock. Not contender, not favorite, but a MORTAL lock.

He will be great. By the next olympics, he could be on the shortlist for Greatest PG in the World (active).

[dukelifer]

Rubio looked fantastic. For a seventeen year old, he was phenomenal. He only scored six points? How many other seventeen year olds would even get off a shot against the type of D he saw in the olympics. LeBron, D-Wade, and Paul are not great Defenders in the NBA, but they were playing all out on D in Beijing. They really tried to put the clamps down, and couldn't. Rose, who is being used as a comparison, is nearly 20 (being old for a Frosh last year). This year's Rose, John Wall, is a fifth year HS senior, so he is at least 18, and may well turn 19 as a HS Senior.

Rubio will be fantastic in the NBA. If you could plug him into any top 20 NCAA school, he would start at PG, and I am including UNC and Lawson in that statement. He is a very good athlete, and has great vision, and a great handle. That Handle is what is drawing the Pistol Pete comparisons. PP was a great shooter, but compared to his dribbling ability his shooting ability was mediocre.

Does he need 10-15 lbs of muscle? Yes. How many 17 year olds don't need some time in the weightroom? Plug Rubio in at Duke nest year and we are a NC lock. Not contender, not favorite, but a MORTAL lock.

He will be great. By the next olympics, he could be on the shortlist for Greatest PG in the World (active).

Granted he was playing against the best- but I did not see the outside shot to warrant the soon-to-be "greatest PG in the world" moniker. He has a great handle and is an excellent passer- but his shooting/scoring is suspect at this point. I see some issues with his mechanics. He will be watched I am sure. If he can develop Nash's flair for shooting- then who knows.

[studdlee10]

"Rubio is not fast/athletic enough to ever be a dominant PG in the NBA."

Is Steve Nash?

Agree that the Maravich comparisions are way over the top.

Steve Nash is more athletic than he gets credit for but I understand the comparison. That said, Nash's success is an anomaly hardly the norm.

Rubio is definitely a good player, however, despite his age and skills, his ceiling is lower than many of his peers. He's definitely talented and is worlds better than Greg Paulus and Ty Lawson, but that's comparing him to a late first round pick and an undrafted FA. What I am personally comparing Rubio to is the elite level of PG, the top 3-5 draft pick level that he's hyped up to be. Do I believe that you could have plugged John Wall, Brandon Knight, Brandon Jennings, or Tyreke Evans at PG for Spain and they could have done better than 6pts 3 assists 2 tos? Absolutely, especially if you give either four of those guys 2-3 years experience playing international and professional basketball. I liken Rubio to Kevin Love. Great players, who might be stars, but are more than likely the "What you see is what you are likely getting" type.

[billybreen]

Rubio looked fantastic. For a seventeen year old, he was phenomenal. He only scored six points? How many other seventeen year olds would even get off a shot against the type of D he saw in the olympics. LeBron, D-Wade, and Paul are not great Defenders in the NBA, but they were playing all out on D in Beijing. They really tried to put the clamps down, and couldn't.

What do you think of Mills, a relatively unheralded rising soph at a small program? The same players were guarding him, and he put 20 on the US. I think he looked much better than Rubio, and his athleticism gives him a greater upside.

[killerleft]

I watched Rubio fairly closely. While I think he's going to be a star player in the NBA, I'm not going to anoint him yet.

He's only 17. He was the point guard for a team that extended the best Olympic team in the world until the last couple minutes. Sheesh! Give the kid a break! He did not look out of place on the court, and there's a lot of smarts and muscle to come.

[miramar]

He didn't look great, but I was impressed that at 17 he was able to withstand the pressure from some of the best guards in the world. Plus he didn't take four steps every time he touched the ball, a la Rudy Fernandez.

The comparison with Pete Maravich is purely physical because Rubio is not a great shooter, which is surprising since that is usually the strongest part of the European game.

[moonpie23]

"The Spanish Pete Maravich."

right......when i see him do something i've NEVER EVER seen before, i'll buy into that...

[calltheobvious]

"Rubio is not fast/athletic enough to ever be a dominant PG in the NBA."

Is Steve Nash?

Agree that the Maravich comparisions are way over the top.

Or John Stockton? Or Bob Cousy?

[Jumbo]

Steve Nash is more athletic than he gets credit for but I understand the comparison. That said, Nash's success is an anomaly hardly the norm.

Rubio is definitely a good player, however, despite his age and skills, his ceiling is lower than many of his peers. He's definitely talented and is worlds better than Greg Paulus and Ty Lawson, but that's comparing him to a late first round pick and an undrafted FA. What I am personally comparing Rubio to is the elite level of PG, the top 3-5 draft pick level that he's hyped up to be. Do I believe that you could have plugged John Wall, Brandon Knight, Brandon Jennings, or Tyreke Evans at PG for Spain and they could have done better than 6pts 3 assists 2 tos? Absolutely, especially if you give either four of those guys 2-3 years experience playing international and professional basketball. I liken Rubio to Kevin Love. Great players, who might be stars, but are more than likely the "What you see is what you are likely getting" type.

This, and your previous post, are absurd. Rubio is extremely quick. He's a demon on defense. Oh, and he's 17. Did anyone mention that yet? I think so. He's going to be even quicker as he trains and gets stronger.

[SupaDave]

Plug Rubio in at Duke nest year and we are a NC lock. Not contender, not favorite, but a MORTAL lock.


Kinda like UNC for the championship this year right? No injury worries or relationships to worry about I'm sure.

He's 17. He's pretty decent. BUT I'm sure we have the equivalent over here.

HIS name is Lance Stephenson - and he's already bigger, faster, and stronger...

[Wander]

Plug Rubio in at Duke nest year and we are a NC lock. Not contender, not favorite, but a MORTAL lock.


Does Rubio play center?

[ugadevil]

I don't see the Pistol Pete comparison, but does anyone else see this comparison?

http://www.23hq.com/Garzo/photo/1211552/standard

http://str8hoops.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/frodo.jpg

Maybe we could recruit him and also get Samwise the Brave!!!!!!

[SupaDave]

I don't see the Pistol Pete comparison, but does anyone else see this comparison?

http://www.23hq.com/Garzo/photo/1211552/standard

http://str8hoops.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/frodo.jpg

Maybe we could recruit him and also get Samwise the Brave!!!!!!

WOW!!! LMAO!!!! Golum would rack up the steals!!!

[kessler]

WOW!!! LMAO!!!! Golum would rack up the steals!!!


haha we mite be able to grab frodo too!

[killerleft]

Heck with Frodo. The One Ring will do. Although being invisible has its drawbacks!