OT- Ricky Rubio 17 yrs 2 months: Shades of Magic!

[Slava]

I've been keenly following his box scores whenever I can after Miles made a thread about him a long while back and just found this on the draft board posted by our resident spanish basketball expert, cdcastellon.

Just watch this compilation of his passing and steals and be mesmerized, look out for his pass at the 1:02 mark. I haven't seen anything more than taped games of Magic Johnson but this dude reminds me of the great man.

Video Link Courtesy: cdcastellon

[milesfides]

If injuries derail our season again...if Kobe opts out...

Hello 2009 Rubio plan.

[djericho]

looks good, but where would it leave farmar or crittenton in a rotation?

for me really if there were a plan, with Rubio's young age, I'd hope he could grow another 2", play him at SF, a point forward type maybe... But that's (2009) a long time from now so who knows....

[Slava]

looks good, but where would it leave farmar or crittenton in a rotation?

for me really if there were a plan, with Rubio's young age, I'd hope he could grow another 2", play him at SF, a point forward type maybe... But that's (2009) a long time from now so who knows....

He's still got growth and could end up at 6'6" or 6'7" but no one asked Magic to play SF because he was 6'8" right?

Personally if there's any chance we could get him, I wouldn't care about Farmar or Crittenton in the rotation. His worst case scenario is being projected to be a Steve Nash and thats saying something.

[cdcastellon1]

I've been keenly following his box scores whenever I can after Miles made a thread about him a long while back and just found this on the draft board posted by our resident spanish basketball expert, cdcastellon.

Just watch this compilation of his passing and steals and be mesmerized, look out for his pass at the 1:02 mark. I haven't seen anything more than taped games of Magic Johnson but this dude reminds me of the great man.

Video Link Courtesy: cdcastellon

thx for the props dude but its not my video, i only posted it, and i m very far to be named international expert thx anyway ;P

[RJM]

He would be wonderful. I've been hearing about this guy for years since he dropped a mega-triple double in a championship game...isn't he old enough to be drafted now?

[cdcastellon1]

He would be wonderful. I've been hearing about this guy for years since he dropped a mega-triple double in a championship game...isn't he old enough to be drafted now?

no, that mega triple doble was 16 months ago only, he is 17 years old and 2 months.

[Tommy Trojan]

He plays more like Nash then Magic. Well maybe not as a shooter like Nash, but a passer like Nash.

[theotheo1]

what was so "mega" about the triple double??

[milesfides]

No way, he's not like Nash. Nash was a solid point guard out of Santa Clara, but he never had the vision that this kid has. Nash does rack up the assists, playing in the Suns system of running the lanes on the break, spotting up for three. They get a lot of shots up, a lot of them go in, and Nash collects the assists because he's the one pushing the ball. Don't get me wrong, not every point guard can do it, and Nash is a superb point guard regardless, but if we're talking about God-given ungodly vision, we're talking Magic, Kidd, and now Rubio.

Nash is also one of the best shooting point guards in the history of the game, maybe THE best. Rubio is not that kind of shooter right now, and probably will never be.

Nash is also not the best defender, whereas Rubio looks like a natural defensive ace.

The closest analogy wouldn't be Magic, I think it would be Jason Kidd. But Rubio will be a better shooter, won't be as good of a rebounder, wouldn't be as strong, but would be a lot more agile using his length. Kidd gets a lot of his assists on alley-oops, broken plays, and an uptempo pace, but I think Rubio has the slashing ability to break down a defense in the halfcourt.

[Sedale Threatt]

He reminds me very much of the Pistol. Same dark hair, same lanky body, same playground style. Some of those passes are just unreal. We don't have enough players like this in the NBA.

Apropos of nothing in particular, here was one Turk's assessment on another compilation I watched on the Tube: "I saw he is a good player however this does not change the truth. Khalid El-Amin has fukced him last night in Ankara ."

[LLcoleJ]

what was so "mega" about the triple double??

Rubio scored 51 points (including a three-point buzzer-beater shot from mid court to force the first overtime), grabbed 24 rebounds, made 12 assists, and stole the ball seven times

[theotheo1]

Rubio scored 51 points (including a three-point buzzer-beater shot from mid court to force the first overtime), grabbed 24 rebounds, made 12 assists, and stole the ball seven times

WOW that is truely "MEGA"

[Gerald3Wallace]

i see more nash in this kid than magic..

i mean cmon now...magic?? lol

MAGIC does the unthinkable..

this guy does the flashy but it has been done by point guards today

[SpaceJam]

Ive been following Rubio for a while...he will be in the draft in a few years, but will end up 10-15. He is kinda slow and his jump shot is also slow, but his passing is great and has high IQ.

[Slava]

i see more nash in this kid than magic..

i mean cmon now...magic?? lol

MAGIC does the unthinkable..

this guy does the flashy but it has been done by point guards today

This is a highlight clip but he does keep raking up those amazing assists consistently in games and he's a kid playing in probably one of the most competitive leagues. There was an ESPN segment arguing that CP3's rookie season was better than Magic's so whats so wrong in seeing shades of Magic in this dude?

He keeps stealing your imagination multiple times in each game so that basically draws comparisons with the best that played his position.

[milesfides]

For the 2009 draft, he's currently ranked number 1 by draftexpress.com and number 5 by nbadraft.net. The hype is officially for real now. No chance to steal this kid, unless our season falls apart and Kobe is traded/opts out.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Suns trade their unprotected Atlanta pick this season for a strategic shot at Rubio in the 2009 draft. Somebody has to replace Steve Nash, since the Suns' entire offense relies on him.

[Slava]

^^ That would absolutely suck to like someone on that team for me.

[TommyTheCat]

No way, he's not like Nash. Nash was a solid point guard out of Santa Clara, but he never had the vision that this kid has. Nash does rack up the assists, playing in the Suns system of running the lanes on the break, spotting up for three. They get a lot of shots up, a lot of them go in, and Nash collects the assists because he's the one pushing the ball. Don't get me wrong, not every point guard can do it, and Nash is a superb point guard regardless, but if we're talking about God-given ungodly vision, we're talking Magic, Kidd, and now Rubio.

Nash is also one of the best shooting point guards in the history of the game, maybe THE best. Rubio is not that kind of shooter right now, and probably will never be.

Nash is also not the best defender, whereas Rubio looks like a natural defensive ace.

The closest analogy wouldn't be Magic, I think it would be Jason Kidd. But Rubio will be a better shooter, won't be as good of a rebounder, wouldn't be as strong, but would be a lot more agile using his length. Kidd gets a lot of his assists on alley-oops, broken plays, and an uptempo pace, but I think Rubio has the slashing ability to break down a defense in the halfcourt.

thanks for the thorough breakdown on him. game vision is a huge asset for players...........usually that alone can bump them from all-star to super star.

[Erik Eleven]

He reminds me very much of the Pistol. Same dark hair, same lanky body, same playground style. Some of those passes are just unreal. We don't have enough players like this in the NBA.

I agree on all of that ^ .