August 26, 2008 – Dr. Browntorious
Watching the USA redeem team win gold this weekend was amazing and eye-opening at the same time. Everyone knew that Team USA was still the team to beat, and that is probably what fueled the collective gasp across the USA as Spain pulled within striking distance several times throughout the 4th quarter of the ball game. The biggest surprise for me was the play of the 17-year old Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio. Sure I had heard a lot about him being the next great young player to come from Europe, but I had no idea just how much carefully metered flash and showmanship this kid has in his game. I was amazed at how much creativity he plays with, while still showing a high basketball IQ and good defensive tactics. He seemed to be a bit of a flopper at times, but you couldn’t deny his passion and motivation to win.
I had been thinking about the play of Rubio in the Gold medal game for the past couple days, then I read the Yardbarker congratulatory post by Baron Davis to Team USA yesterday. Davis mentions that he “can’t wait till Rubio makes it to the league. He’s a gem.” It got me thinking about the similarities in their games. Obviously i’m not talking about their physical tools as Davis is a much more imposing point guard given his stature and athletic abilities, but both Davis and Rubio play with a lot flash without compromising their effectiveness. They are both born entertainers, but also play with a lot of heart and passion for winning. Like many young players before him, Rubio seems to take moves made famous by his predecessors or idols and tweaks them to add a little sumpin’ sumpin’. Check out what I mean with Rubio’s little tweak on the classic Baron Davis fake behind-the-back pass to himself. (Although this may have originally been tweaked from the original Pete Maravich move)
Baron Davis – UCLA
Ricky Rubio – DKV Joventut
After the Olympics there will be a lot of talk about Ricky Rubio going #1 overall in the 2010 NBA Draft when he becomes available, and for good reason. Most likely analysts will continue to compare Rubio to a Steve Nash type player. But I think Rubio and Nash are too dissimilar to make that comparison. Rubio is a much better perimeter defender than Nash, while being nowhere near the shooter that Steve Nash is. Nash is a fundamentally sound shooter, whereas Rubio is more of a streak scorer with questionable technique and very little lift on his jumper.
Rubio will certainly be a fan favorite a-la Baron Davis when he finally gets to the league though. I certainly can’t wait to see what other mustard he puts on some of my favorite Boom Dizzle, J.Kidd, or Nash fakes and passes by then.
