Ricky Rubio Watch

For those few who haven’t heard of him, Ricky Rubio is the 17-year old Spanish phenom who has been the primary backup at PG for Spain in the Olympics. He’s eligible for the draft next year, and if he declares will be a top 5 pick. One of the things I’m excited about with the Olympics is tracking him through the games, particularly the game(s?) against the US where we get our first real look at him against top NBA-level competition.

First, a little background info.

Rubio is a legit 6′4 with a long wingspan. He’s an average athlete, not poor, but certainly does not have elite quickness (one of the few marks against him).

He’s been playing in the Spanish ACB league (without a doubt the toughest domestic league in the world outside the NBA) since he was 14. This last year he was the best point guard in the league on the second best team in the league.

He’s been under the spotlight, but Rubio jumped to the front of everybody’s mind at the U-16 European Championships in 2006. There he led his team to the title without a single loss, and with some truly spectacular games to close things out. In the semifinal game he threw up a quadruple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists and 11 steals in only 28 minutes. More impressive was his finals performance, where Rubio dropped an astounding 51 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists and 7 steals, including a half court bomb at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

If you’ve never seen him in action, check out some of his highlights.

Quick scouting report: Rubio is, in a lot of ways, the prototypical pure point guard. He has great size for the position, standing 6′4-6′5 with a great wingspan. The thing that becomes immediately obvious when watching him is that he has tremendous floor vision. His anticipation is terrific, and he sees plays before they unfold and can deliver a pass right when it needs to be made. You’re not going to find a smarter 17 year old player. His passing ability is simply amazing, on the level of some of the best the NBA has ever seen. It isn’t just that he can make the flashy behind-the-back pass, but his ability to pass with either hand is great. His ball-handling is also at an elite level. He controls the ball like it’s on a string, and there is practically no difference between his right and left hands. His superb ball-handling, knowledge of the game, and body control allow him to get into the lane at will, despite not having elite quickness or a great jumpshot. His ability to get to the rim at any time and finish creatively is his biggest scoring weapon right now. His jumpshot is still rough at the moment. He’s a good spot-up shooter when given space, and his mechanics are good, but he needs to improve his consistency from NBA range and while shooting on the move. Defensively is where Rubio shines the most right now (a rarity in a young guard). He’s an absolute terror to opposing ballhandlers. His reach, hands and anticipation are all so good that he generates steals at an incredible rate.

Rubio has played 3 games so far in these Olympics for 3-0 Spain, with very solid results

vs. Greece: 13 minutes, 7 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2-4 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-2 FT

vs. China: 21 minutes, 1 point, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals, 4 turnovers, 0-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT

vs. Germany: 13 minutes, 7 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 0 turnovers, 3-7 FG, 0-2 3FG, 1-1 FT

Now, these numbers may not look wildly impressive, but here’s what you’ve got to understand. International teams DO NOT play young players. The next youngest players on this Olympic team are Rudy Fernandez and Marc Gasol, both 23. For a guy of Rubio’s age to be playing in the OLYMPICS just does not happen. Regardless of what stats he puts up, the fact that he has taken over the backup point guard spot from Raul Lopez (a former first round pick and member of Spain’s 2000 Olympic team) speaks volumes. However, his numbers are pretty good. He’s been an effective scorer in limited minutes against quality teams (all three hold hopes of medaling, with Greece as a favorite to do so and the other two as outside shots), and he has shown off his ability to dominate a game without scoring, rebounding the ball well, finding his teammates, and creating havoc defensively. In case you were wondering if these stats are coming in garbage minutes, know that Rubio took the last shot in regulation for Spain in their overtime thriller against China. In all, Rubio has done nothing but further my opinion that he should be the top pick in next year’s draft. He’s an amazing talent, with the potential to be the best point guard in the world at some point in his career. Guys with his kind of court vision and flair are once-in-a-decade finds, with names like Nash, Magic, Maravich and Cousy. Rare air, but Rubio absolutely has a chance to be that good in my mind.

Post-USA Game Update: Despite Spain’s lackluster performance (and they pretty much shut it down midway through the 3rd quarter), I came away very impressed with what I saw from Rubioagainst the US. He was the best guard on the floor for Spain this game (and this is a team with Calderon, Fernandez and Navarro in the backcourt). Despite not shooting much, or terribly well (he only took 4 shots, made one three-pointer, and most notably blew a layup that he should’ve converted), he made an impact on the came, and played a lot in the first half when the game was still undecided. He went to the free throw line 6 times and made all but 1, drawing several fouls against the US ball pressure, and very rarely looking flustered. Considering that he’s a 17-year old on the world’s biggest stage and against a quick, swarming, gambling US defense, his composure was very impressive. He had 3 rebounds and 3 assists, though I counted at least 3 instances where he got teammates open layup opportunities that they missed or had blocked from behind. He also had 3 steals, several times showing his impressive anticipation. He didn’t always stay in front of Chris Paul (but nobody in the NBA could this year, so I’m not going to hold that against him), but he showed very good court awareness drifting off his man to crowd passing lanes, and looked good when Spain went to a zone too. Possibly the most impressive thing about him was his ability to throw the alley-oop pass. Spain tried to do this several times, but the US almost always came from the weakside and stole or deflected the lob. Rubio was the only Spanish player I saw successfully throw an alley-oop pass against the US defense, and he did it 3 times (with one missed layup and 2 dunks as the result).  The biggest concern from seeing him is his jumpshot, which we knew was a weakness. Even though he hit a 3 and went 5-6 on FTs, his shot is still obviously flat, without the arc or touch that you would like to see. Still, his mechanics, if a bit slow, look pretty good, and he certainly has plenty of time to improve that area of his game. All in all, it was a very solid performance against an outstanding team, and reinforces my opinion that Rubio is THE top prospect for next year.

BallerBlogger contributing writer ‘xphoenix87′ is a college student who dreams of one day writing about sports for a living. Since that’s not gonna happen, he’ll do this instead.