Ricky Rubio highlights vs. Canada on August 1st
almost 2 years ago
meru
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love it
the RICKY jersey is fantastic. Nice vision and touch from the young man, I can see where his passing draws comparisons to JKidd.
There’s something about him that reminds me a little of Brandon Roy. I like the Kidd comparisons, but only if Kidd controlled the tempo and the basketball the way Roy does, where he’s not going to blister you on his way to the hoop, but he’s so crafty and has so much touch, that the defense sucks in enough for him to find the open man with beautiful, soft touch.
And waiting a couple years to find a weird Brandon Roy-Jason Kidd hybrid seems well worth it.
heart of a champion, will of the warrior.
Right. Just saying he’s does Jason Kidd type things in a Brandon Roy sort of way. His game is based on touch and craftiness, while Kidd torched folks off the dribble. In the half court, Rubio’s game will stylistically look more like Roy than Kidd, even if the results are more Kidd-like.
heart of a champion, will of the warrior.
I wouldn't have ever thought of it in that way
Really interesting comparison. I think I can see what you mean though, back in the day Kidd was a pretty phenomenal athlete as well as a great playmaker. I love players that are able to consistently create plays without insane athleticism (Roy, Nash, modern day Kidd). He’s a pretty unique player. I think he’ll probably turn it over a lot his rookie year, but he’ll figure out throughout the year what kinds of plays he can make against NBA defenses and he’ll be just fine.
I think the thing...
…that I like the most is how much Spain loves basketball. The Dream Team really lit a fire in the Olympics in Spain.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
Not even remotely on topic, but
I thought you might be interested in this SI article on Mark Hughes and Fulham, in case you hadn’t already seen it. I really like that hire. His work at Blackburn shows that he can build a competitive team on a budget.
Hughes will do well at Fulham. Good hire for them. I sort of got the feeling that whoever City’s first manager with all that newfound money was would end up struggling a bit. It’s a pretty crazy situation to be in for anyone.
heart of a champion, will of the warrior.
I agree
City wanted too much, too fast. They need a little bit of stability to play as well as they should given their spending habits.
It’s a little unfortunate for Hughes that he’s coming to Fulham at one of the few times that fans may have unreasonable expectations. But I think he’ll do well and will probably be able to stick around until he gets another opportunity to move up.
It’s also important to realize how well Mancini did with what was essentially the roster Hughes assembled. It seems very possible that after buying a brand new roster, they might need more than a half a season to get it together. It’s not like Man U where there’s a good amount of turnover, but you know that Ferdinand and Rooney are going to anchor the front and the back lines. That City team decided to start from scratch. Real underperformed for a while under similar circumstances (and much better/more expensive talent) and I’d expect them to be better this upcoming season as well.
Fulham will be a top half of the table team and have a good shot of scraping back into Europa League contention. I think Hughes will get improvements out of a team that finished 12th last year.
heart of a champion, will of the warrior.
Man U is anchored by...
Roo, Ferdinand and the Old Trafford goal. The game always starts 1-0 ManUre when it is played on those hallowed grounds.
by Minneapleseed on Aug 5, 2010 4:08 PM CDT up reply actions
It's better than some of the other rumored...
…candidates that were out there. I can’t wait for the home opener against Man U.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
Good lord...
a Sparky fan on Hoopus. I can’t believe my eyes. I’ll give you the fact that he got dumped perhaps a touch early by Man Citeh, but, Hughes (and Citeh, for that matter) is a prime example of everything wrong with soccer in En-ger-Land. Someone take away their Visa Black Card on the transfer market, please. The monetary maniacs in Manc are closing in on $1Billion in player purchases/wages in ONE YEAR of which Hughes and his supposed “build it on a budget” mentality is responsible for a vast majority. Hughes and his brand of anti-football at Blackburn was hard on the eyes at best and deplorable at worst, which is really quite sad considering it is being taught by a man who was capable of this.
Hughes is one of the managers that enjoys his players “getting stuck in”, as the saying goes, and I truly hope Clint Dempsey gets as far away from Sparky and his teachings as possible before he is damaged for life.
That said, I have been a fan of what Fulhamerica have been doing as a club for the past few years, especially giving American players a platform to do stuff like this.
by Minneapleseed on Aug 5, 2010 4:03 PM CDT up reply actions
Hughes definitely preached physical play from most of his team, but he got flair out of his skill players too. The wings at Blackburn were impressive and his strikers benefitted from that. Just because that team included guys like Robbie Savage isn’t any reason to forget the skill many of his players exhibited. I don’t think Dempsey will be turned into some sort of terrible thug by Hughes during his tenure there.
(Full bias disclosure, while Hearts is the team I throw my support behind, I’ve always liked Blackburn for some reason)
heart of a champion, will of the warrior.
Well, sure
Hughes is no Arsene Wenger. But I never thought his Blackburn side was as hard to watch as, say, Allardyce’s Bolton teams were. (Coincidence that Sammy’s now at Blackburn?)
But I was glad to see Fulham bring in a manager with a good track record (at least at Blackburn) instead of rolling the dice with another Sanchez-type guy. It was a hire that showed that they’re serious about competing, and that’s what I liked about it. The style points may go down a bit, which would be too bad, but I’d take that over another relegation battle.
True...
there’s only one Arsene Wenger!!
The Walrus is definitely far worse than Hughes as far as the robustness of play from his teams goes. However, I’m not so sure Hughes ever developed a player with flair. Hughes himself displayed some silky skills at times, but there is nothing to show that he develops skilled players. The skilled players on his team were purchased as finished products (albeit at a discount for the most part) and tasked to do a job.
Hughes (and Allardyce, and Phil Brown, and the 2010 Dutch/Spain World Cup Final) use the dark arts of the game to full effect and as a fan of the more beautiful aspects of the sport, I have come to detest the pragmatism that is seeping into the blood stream of world football.
by Minneapleseed on Aug 5, 2010 5:19 PM CDT up reply actions
Ricky!
Man, I can’t wait. This kid is gonna be huge! His game’s so much fun, I can’t wait to watch him all season long.
Is it just me?
Or does Ricky look noticeably more ‘man’ like than teenager like? Dude actually looks the part of an NBA basketball player to me for the first time (kind of like what happened with KG around his second or third year here – suddenly he wasn’t Da Kid anymore but the Big Ticket).
I do hope Ricky develops into a solid shooter. I think it would really help his game if he had a three point shot and pull-up jumper that he felt confident in.
"Styx might be the mullet of bands."
I agree
And I don’t care what Ming says, he looks like he has elite length for a point guard out there. He just seems so rangy. The only reason Jose Calderon is taller is because he has the neck of a giraffe (very bizarre). But my guess is that Rubio possesses an equally out of proportion wingspan, which is what really makes him play bigger.
by Rascal Flatts on Aug 5, 2010 11:45 AM CDT up reply actions
Ming's pointless height post
Never disputed Ricky’s supposed 6’9 wingspan. Whether he’s closer to 6’3 or 6’5, that wingspan is ridiculous. He’s going to have no problem finding angles and disrupting passing lanes in the NBA, just like he does in Europe.
Interviewer: Can you understand why teams value potential ahead of experience and accomplishment in the draft? Wes Johnson: "Yeah. I understand. It’s the youngness of everything – older guys like young women, so it’s the same way."
"Neck of a Giraffe," examples thereof.
Calderon isn’t the only one getting credit for his last few vertebrae.
Carlos Suarez
had 10 puntas and 1 mate. Although I can guess what a mate is, I would prefer to believe it is something else.
And I am ready to buy my Rubio jersey right now.
Dear Alex Gordon:
I still think you will be awesome, but for the love of God, please stop getting hurt.
Sincerely,
RF
+1
Kahn should be lobbying the NBA right now so that when Ricky comes his jersey just says “Ricky” on the back, like Nene’s. Ditto for a “Darko” jersey.
I would buy a “Ricky” Wolves jersey to 2.1 seconds or less.
"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." -- Yogi Berra
by Wile E Coyote on Aug 5, 2010 1:32 PM CDT up reply actions
Hell yes!
I’d buy a T-Wolves jersey with ‘Ricky’ on the back right now. As long as they get rid of the ugly neck-trees.
by princelyfrank on Aug 5, 2010 4:03 PM CDT up reply actions
Those looks over the top of the defense are scary good.
The first one starting at about 0:20 here, where he doesn’t even collect the outlet before he hits the teammate with a full court chest pass…. That is just ridiculous.
The way he feels his way through the two-man game after 2:50 is sweet, too. I always say, he’s one of those players you can see thinking on the court, so clearly. Joy to watch, even in a herky-jerky situation.
Really amazing
to see that in one single game he comes up with three or four highlight plays. These aren’t assists where a wing comes off of a bunch of screens and Rubio hits him for a spot up J (think Billups to Rip Hamilton). They are mostly guys he’s hitting in stride on either the break or PnR.
by Rascal Flatts on Aug 5, 2010 11:38 AM CDT up reply actions
(He doesn't even get credit for assists like that.)
In Euro ball, you don’t get credited with “Pitch it back for a spot-up jumper” assists at all. Basically unless you hit a big in stride for an immediate layup, it’s not an assist in the box score anyway.
But, yeah, Ricky Blonde is a raft of highlight looks. Whether he turns over a ton of those his first two years or not, he’s going to be an NBA fan magnet.
I thought
that as long as there wasn’t any dribble-drive action after the pass, it would be credited as an assist, no?
But yeah, either way, he knows how to hit guys on the move.
by Rascal Flatts on Aug 5, 2010 11:47 AM CDT up reply actions
That go-ahead pass
that you mentioned was a thing of beauty. We know he can run the PnR and make sweet drive and dishes, so to see that he’s equally adept at the Jason Kidd “grab it and toss it ahead if I’m behind the D” passes is awesome. He and Love are a fantastic foundation for an exciting team.
Notice how well he threads the needle on his PnR passes, too. There’s that one play where he literally couldn’t have made the pass any other way and yet he drops it RIGHT into the open hand of his streaking big (who then gets fouled). Most PG’s wouldn’t even be able to get the ball through that opening, let alone place it into the palm of their big.
These highlights really get me excited. This kid is going to be so fun to watch.
Interviewer: Can you understand why teams value potential ahead of experience and accomplishment in the draft? Wes Johnson: "Yeah. I understand. It’s the youngness of everything – older guys like young women, so it’s the same way."
this is the main reason we ditched hollins
he is very athletic and talented in some ways, but would have fumbled every single one of these passes
Very Excited to see Rubio play here
These highlights are exciting to watch. One thing I’ve noticed while looking at his highlights though is that he ALWAYS passes when going to the basket. The man is going to need to learn how to finish it himself sometime or defenses will over commit to the pass and he won’t have a game. Rubio is a freakish passer, but he needs to learn how to score better to keep the defense honest. I’d love to see him develop a floater or pull up jumper.
anecdotally, i've seen him finish at the rim
but you’re right, he tends to pass on a drive.
This isn’t as bad as the alternative (remember how quickly defenses figured out that Foye was ALWAYS going to go off the glass with his right on a drive?), especially if we surround him with plenty of passing options.
You can over-commit to the one available pass effectively. But you can’t over-commit to lots of different passing lanes at a time. And this kid’s vision and smarts indicate that he’ll find the open option every time.
Don’t get me wrong — if he can expand his game, he should. But I don’t think this particular shortcoming is that big a deal.
Everyone take a breath.
It's an exception though
His in-between scoring game is virtually non-existent. He almost always looks to pass. What we don’t know is how many of those times he puts guys in an awkward position underneath the hoop or turns it over, where instead he would have been better served going up for a shot himself. We don’t get to see those plays on Youtube. I would open this question up to some of the b-ball savants around here that have seen him enough in full game action to comment.
by Rascal Flatts on Aug 5, 2010 11:54 AM CDT up reply actions
agree, though that’s what they said about Rondo.
That ball movement is exactly what I want to see on a Wolves team. We got the players for it, let’s see it happen.
by Wim (Belgium) on Aug 5, 2010 2:38 PM CDT up reply actions
Does it worry anyone else?
One thing I have noticed about Ricky is the low trajectory of his “scoop shot” on a lot of his drives. I don’t remember a lot of NBA guards doing that today – well, maybe Nash every once in a while. It would seem that NBA bigs would have a field day swatting that weak shit and putting Ricky on his ass.
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