What's your impression on Ricky Rubio now?

[bdreason]

Turns the ball over too much and can't shoot from the perimeter.


The Spanish White Chocolate, in my opinion.


He'll play NBA ball, but he won't be a superstar.

[ukballer]

Saw him play in the Lithuania game (Semi Final). Obviously his lack of strength is an issue right now, but obviously thats something that can come with age and with time in the gym. To me his understanding of the game was average at best. I noticed during so many pick and rolls on defense, rather than try to fight through the screen, or at worst switch to the rolling big man, he would just literally give up, forcing guys like Pau and Reyes to have to guard 2 guys at once, leaving the perimeter completely open. I can't remember the guy's name, but some long haired Lithuanian just completely torched them from the outside. The problem was though, these were uncontested shots. And when the big guy's did get out to the perimeter, obviously it left the interior pretty open, and that Lithuanian guy (Javtovkas?) got so many easy layups. All these open looks seemed to come from Rubio just not running the basic pick and roll defensive role properly, and just flopping or just being brushed away like a crumb off a table.

Not a good outside shooter from the games I saw either.

What does impress me is his arm span, and he could get a lot of steals if he gambles defensively, which he may need to do a lot of to make up for his lack of strength. Obviously he is fast, but I never really saw him take it to the hole except for easy uncontested layups. The one time he did get inside, Dwight Howard just ate him up, so not sure about that aspect to his game, if he has that aspect in his game.

Right now, it's too much hype. He'll be an NBA player for many years, but there are many other PGs I would prefer to have over him. The good thing is, time is on his side at least.

I don't mind if you disagree with me or not, I am only basing this off of 2 games I say him play in fully. It's kind of unfair of me to assess him this much on just 2 games, but thats honestly all I can really do right now...

[cyco127]

Question: With all the money being thrown around in Europe these days who's to say he'll even come over to the States to make a few mill and be a back-up. He'll probably be offered a whole heck-uv-a lot more by some foriegn team to start.

Uh, I guess that's not really a question...

[inclinerator]

its cuz of dat der cell tech they got in Spain brah

[Heretik32]

My impression on Ricky Rubio?

I guess he's not much impressed by me, I must admit

[lakers87]

I felt like in the first game against the US, he was understandably nervous and hesitant. In the gold medal game, being a little more familiar with the speed of the US, he was able to play his game a lot more. He showed marked improvement and that in itself shows his mental fortitude.

[Buffalobraves]

Didn't he get a technical and the end of the gold medal game?

[dr8ked]

Dude got potential, Needs to improve his Ball Handling Skills To avoid turn overs, work on a jumper and work on gaining more strength. So far he reminds me of steve nash without the 3 point shot.

[One of Shemps Kids]

Don't fool yourselves, he isn't being drafted for athleticism, or hops. It pure PG skills. He has great court vision, handles the ball well and efficiently. He just needs a better J (he seems like a good FT shooter, though).

[dr8ked]

Don't fool yourselves, he isn't being drafted for athleticism, or hops. It pure PG skills. He has great court vision, handles the ball well and efficiently. He just needs a better J (he seems like a good FT shooter, though).

Can you post his career Turn over and assists Numbers ??? The little glimpse i had of him in the olympics , is not efficient. But he has time to improve .

[kingpala]

Are people actually predicting this kid's game in the future? How? You guys must be wizards or something. He is only 17 years old, and the male body stops growing at the age of 25 (some stop earlier).

If he was in the States, he'd most definitely be a top prospect for colleges. I can only see improvement. I mean, what else is there? He can't regress. He's already a good youngster. He probably won't be able to sniff the NBA until the age of 19, but he will be very capable from what I've seen.

[dajadeed]

overrated and will only continue to get overrated. how he is the best prospect for the 2009 draft, i'll never know. he is certainly not that good.

lmao

How many 17 year olds can hold their own against Team USA?

The kid looked very very good at times. Yeah, he has some things to work at, but HE IS ONLY SEVENTEEN.

Bright future ahead of him, imo.

[berraco]

Can you post his career Turn over and assists Numbers ??? The little glimpse i had of him in the olympics , is not efficient. But he has time to improve .

He had 4Ass/2TO in the last regular season. However, you can't directly translate this to NBA ratios because the plays where you get an assist in FIBA are more limited than in NBA.

[mrhoopfan]

He is a better pg than telfair was, easily, not quite the scoring presence, but does look very good athletically. With his athleticism and handles, he could easily be mistaken for growing up in Bushwick or the south Bronx, but his judgement, court vision, and understanding of man and zone defensive nuance(especially when on the ball), are that of a top-level international PG, and make it known he was raised and coached in Europe.

I see big things for him if he develops his spot up 3 to 40%, and watches lots of NBA tape of playoff pick-n-roll defensive tendencies.
It may also be helpful for him to scrap an all range jumpshot, opting instead to allocate more time towards a standstill spot-up 3, creative finishes around the goal, and developing, for use in pick-n-rolls, a runner off his left foot from 14-16ft like Navarro, who I'm sure could explain the feel and nuance of the shot to Rubio

Does anyone agree/diagree with this assessment for a 17yr old who is still growing?

No.......Telfair was an excellent 17 year old pg....not just offensively, but also a great leader and nifty distributor. There's no way I believe Telfair couldn't have averaged the 4.7 pts Rubio averaged, shoot 28% from the field, including 17% from 3 like Rubio did in the Olympics.....and his assist to turnover ratio was decent, not great at 1.5to 1

[Brunch@Five]

It's hard to judge Ricky, because he's the first 17-year old draft prospect that is playing against elite competition, and is not dominating high school teams that have 1 other NBA prospect at best.
Last time he went up against players his age was in the U 16 world championship finals, when he put up 51/24/12/7 steals