The first time I ever heard his name was in April of 2005 while reading DraftExpress... There was this young Spanish PG more than holding his own in one of the toughest leagues in Europe. The thing that caught everyones attention was that he was only 15 years old. He has been a big name in basketball circles over there since 2004, and was already being compared to the Greatest European guard of all time, Drazen Petrovic...
- He became a very popular name amongst basketball fans early in 2004, when he amazed in a youth tournament organized by the ACB League, parallel to the King’s Cup. It became so out of control that even the President of the Spanish Basketball Federation irresponsibly compared him with the all-time greatest European guard, Drazen Petrovic, in an interview. That’s a huge load for a kid to carry, and it remains to be seen how everything turns out for him.
The thing is, after his outstanding play throughout the tournament he turned it up to another level in the semi-finals against Croatia and the championship game against Russia.
- As much as the preliminary and quarterfinal stages completely met our most optimistic outlook, his final display exceeded any reasonable expectation. Croatia was a dangerous but affordable rival for Spain in the semifinals. They had a big size advantage in the frontcourt, but nothing that couldn’t be battled with a physical game, and their backcourt frequently worked based on individual inspiration. Spain got an early lead that they never lost, and Ricky only need 28 minutes of playing time to put up a quadruple double, finishing the game with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists and 11 steals in 33 minutes.
- “As Babunashvili hit an incredible fade-away three-pointer with 1.4 seconds to go, the Russians exploded with joy while the Spanish shank in despair. Nobody had any hope left, even the Spanish coach had given up. Nobody seemed capable of reacting, even to inbound the ball for that final second. Nobody but Ricky Rubio, who was asking like crazy for the ball. Finally a teammate reacted and sent the ball to him; a couple of strides and, sneaking between three rivals, he threw that bomb from the mid court, hitting the board just before going down through the net.”
- Russia in the final was a tougher match in advance despite the deceiving 15-point differential that Spain got in the preliminary round against them. It was so much tougher that Spain needed virtually a miracle to come up with the victory. But Rubio had an appointment with destiny, and had no intention to miss it. Russia had taken what looked like a definitive 3-point lead with under 2 seconds to go on the clock, and it had to be Ricky, a mediocre shooter, who nailed a mid-court bomb with the buzzer to send the game to the first overtime, which ultimately gave the victory to Spain and an unbelievable stat-line of 51 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists and 7 steals for Ricky.
All those feats were at the tender age of 15... Rubio is now 17 years old, and playing against the toughest competion in the toughest league in Europe. He plays for DKV Jovetnut alongside Rudy Fernandez' (a 6'6" SG who is predicted as a 1st rounder in 2008 Draft per multiple sources).
My question to all of you is, how would he rate playing against 2008's best PG's? I've seen him slotted as an early 1st Round Draft Pick in the 2009 draft on a few different sites such as NBADraft.net, DraftExpress, etc. But he has only been playing against the best Europe has to offer. Sure he's got the size (6'4" & 180lbs), but does he have the quickness and athleticism to compete with the best the US has to offer?
Below is a video of Rubio from this past season...
http://acbtv.acb.com/video/169
How do you think he'd fair against the likes of:
Brandon Jennings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJpqtynQOAM
Tyreke Evans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-DYsPXURt0
Jrue Holiday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybx_dhVBrBg
Malcolm Lee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cBJXVfI9gY
Isaiah Thomas
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid192878596?bctid=192880237
Kemba Walker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfJkQs1d0rI
Jerime Anderson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6NrW3kCiqw
Larry Drew
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pbfy3nEcIs
I guess the future will tell???
'Zo
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