Ricky Rubio really as good as they say, or Jason Williams?

[thebigjustice]

When I see Ricky Rubio play he has very flashy passing skills, but overambitious at the same time. He can't shoot especially well, he likes to weeve through the defense but won't always finish well. He reminds me of a young Jason Williams. I don't think that style of play works in the NBA a whole lot. He looks like he's trying to make the highlightreel all the time. I seriously doubt he'd be a number one draft prospect

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

You compared him to Jason Williams? WHAT? Did you see today's game? Sure, he didn't overwhelm anybody but his composure is amazing for a 17 year old kid. He plays the passing lanes Allen Iverson like and is a quality defender for his age. And how he sees the court so damn well is unbelievable.

Ricky Rubio is to Jason Williams as Andre Miller is to John Stockton. Highlight reels don't show how good a player is.

[MaryvalesFinest]

Most of the time Euro prospects don't pan out...very few turn out to be solid role players or super stars. I don't think he's going to be a bust but he's most likely going to be a 10-5 player in the NBA nothing spectacular.

[Duiz]

He is 17 years old... If he was an american player, he would be right now in his junior year, officially he couldn't drink, he couldn't smoke, and he couldn't have sex with girls older than 18. I don't even know if he shaves yet.

You gotta accept that to be playing against Team USA, with Chris Paul(RoY, 1 Time All-Star, MVP Runner up, 2nd Team All-Defense), Deron Williams (Western Conference finalist, 2 Time All-Star Snub), Kobe Bryant (3 Championship Rings, 1 MVP, Gazillion of All-Star appearances, Gazillion of 1st Team All-Defense appearances) that he is prone to make some mistake. Well... actually plenty. But he managed to keep his composure besides double teams and whatever else was thrown at him, and perhaps proved to have been the best PG to have played Team USA in this whole pool play.

Give the kid a break. He is not even elegible for draft until two years from now. He is that young.

[thebigjustice]

Well, whatever he'll be he'll be we'll see.

[Young_Star11]

He's only 17 years old, which is incredibly young.

Jose Calderon has come to the NBA and been very good.

It's a waiting game on Rubio.

[Cybulski37]

He is 17 years old... If he was an american player, he would be right now in his junior year, officially he couldn't drink, he couldn't smoke, and he couldn't have sex with girls older than 18. I don't even know if he shaves yet.

You gotta accept that to be playing against Team USA, with Chris Paul(RoY, 1 Time All-Star, MVP Runner up, 2nd Team All-Defense), Deron Williams (Western Conference finalist, 2 Time All-Star Snub), Kobe Bryant (3 Championship Rings, 1 MVP, Gazillion of All-Star appearances, Gazillion of 1st Team All-Defense appearances) that he is prone to make some mistake. Well... actually plenty. But he managed to keep his composure besides double teams and whatever else was thrown at him, and perhaps proved to have been the best PG to have played Team USA in this whole pool play.

Give the kid a break. He is not even elegible for draft until two years from now. He is that young.

I was born in 1990 like him and I just graduated. So we'd probably be seeing him in the NCAA if he were American.

[Duiz]

He is 17 years old... If he was an american player, he would be right now in his junior year, officially he couldn't drink, he couldn't smoke, and he couldn't have sex with girls older than 18. I don't even know if he shaves yet.

You gotta accept that to be playing against Team USA, with Chris Paul(RoY, 1 Time All-Star, MVP Runner up, 2nd Team All-Defense), Deron Williams (Western Conference finalist, 2 Time All-Star Snub), Kobe Bryant (3 Championship Rings, 1 MVP, Gazillion of All-Star appearances, Gazillion of 1st Team All-Defense appearances) that he is prone to make some mistake. Well... actually plenty. But he managed to keep his composure besides double teams and whatever else was thrown at him, and perhaps proved to have been the best PG to have played Team USA in this whole pool play.

Give the kid a break. He is not even elegible for draft until two years from now. He is that young.

I was born in 1990 like him and I just graduated. So we'd probably be seeing him in the NCAA if he were American.

He is already professional in the most competitive basketball league in the world outside the NBA (Sauf WNBA), which is in Spain. The kid is really putting numbers that are mythical. I remember seeing the final of the Eurobasket 2008 Under 17 I believe, Rubio put up a Wilt Chamberlain-esque statline when he recorded 51 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists, and 7 steals against Russia in the tourney's final. which Spain won 110-106. Remember, these are the Russian kids that will fill up the roster of CSKA Moscow one day.

The kid is a stud. I am sorry, but likely, you don't compare for the same-age fella. If it makes you happy, he will not have a college degree, and you will.

[carrottop12]

He's sick, and he's going to be great when he does come to the NBA.

I think people are honestly scared to admit he's great.

[SmoothKobra]

It's really way too early to be claiming he's the next big thing. I think the different styles of play always make foreign players have an asterisk on them when coming to the NBA..

[Rasheeed!!!]

he's really good for his age....it all depends on how he goes from here. He's got the skills and the confidence so things are looking real good.

[aroba]

...he's actually going to sign a new contract (when he reaches 18) until 2011.
So he'll be 20-21 when he makes the jump to NBA.

Rubio is just a kid, outstanding, but just a kid. He's also got a very mature mind. Nice student

Some doc about him in spanish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY6IcnyvJpM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2FHp96VX9c

[St.Nick]

He is Sergio Rodriquez pt. II.

Creative with the ball, not quick enough to hang with NBA point guards. If he gets drafted in the top-10 he will be a bust.

[CzBoobie]

He is Sergio Rodriquez pt. II.

Creative with the ball, not quick enough to hang with NBA point guards. If he gets drafted in the top-10 he will be a bust.

He is better than Sergio ever was or ever will be right now...give him 3 more years to become best player in Europe and next 3 years to become top5 PG in the NBA.

[i-lion]

He's going to be a special player when he gets into the league i think he needs to put a bit more work into his offensive game and he should be set for the NBA.

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

Ricky Rubio already exceeds the level of play of Sergio Rodriguez. Rubio's defensive abilities for a PG are out of this world. People have said "Manu Ginobili" defensively, let me take it a step further. Allen Iverson. That's how good Ricky Rubio is at playing the passing lanes. How many passes he broke up in
the US-Spain contest? Ricky wasn't overly good or bad. He was average in the U.S.- Spain contest. Which says alot about his playmaking abilities seeing as no guard could ever hope to look decent against the US Perimeter D. Which no international Team dares give us credit for -_-. Ricky just needs playing time and touches to develop his offensive game. If he can manage the toughest part of development: being an offensive player while doing what you do. He's a T-5 pick WITHOUT question. He's a hell of alot better then Derrick Rose now and he's alot better then what Rose will ever be. Rose will only be a quality starting point in the league.(Which is why it's sad he was taken #1 overall. The other PG'S that were taken #1 overall before were Magic Johnson and Allen Iverson. Both will be in the hall of fame. Derrick Rose will be lucky to be an All-star). I only wish the Age-Limitation rules were not here. Rubio would be a hell of a spark off of ANY team's bench.

[Jmonty580]

There is some really bold talk in here about how good this kid will be. There is no doubt about it, he is a really good prospect, but nobody is a lock to be a g reat pro. Saying he is better than D. ROse now and that D. Rose will be lucky to even be an all-star is just foolishness, you havent even seen the kid play one nba game yet. Scratch all that crap you see before they get to the league, its all about what happens when you are in the NBA that determines you mark on the league, Rose has proved nothing yet, same as Rubio. To be honest the kid didnt look too amazing to me from what i saw of him vs. the US. He had a few nice passes but that was about it. If anything I saw a player that couldnt not even come close to containing or competing with Chris Pual or Williams. Now yes he is only 17 so perhaps he can get stronger and learn more and get b etter, but based on what i saw, there was nothing exceptional about him to make people go crazy. As of right now i must honestly say w ith no bias at all, this kids hype procceeds him, people are jumping on his badnwagon without knowing more about him than what they heard someone else say or from watching a flashy youbtube clip.

I not against or for the kid, all im saying is he is young, and he is a euro player, you cant talk about h ow good he will be in t he league yet, you can only consider him a good prospect.

[MaNs1]

There is some really bold talk in here about how good this kid will be. There is no doubt about it, he is a really good prospect, but nobody is a lock to be a g reat pro. Saying he is better than D. ROse now and that D. Rose will be lucky to even be an all-star is just foolishness, you havent even seen the kid play one nba game yet. Scratch all that crap you see before they get to the league, its all about what happens when you are in the NBA that determines you mark on the league, Rose has proved nothing yet, same as Rubio. To be honest the kid didnt look too amazing to me from what i saw of him vs. the US. He had a few nice passes but that was about it. If anything I saw a player that couldnt not even come close to containing or competing with Chris Pual or Williams. Now yes he is only 17 so perhaps he can get stronger and learn more and get b etter, but based on what i saw, there was nothing exceptional about him to make people go crazy. As of right now i must honestly say w ith no bias at all, this kids hype procceeds him, people are jumping on his badnwagon without knowing more about him than what they heard someone else say or from watching a flashy youbtube clip.

I not against or for the kid, all im saying is he is young, and he is a euro player, you cant talk about h ow good he will be in t he league yet, you can only consider him a good prospect.

Woww...

"If anything" you saw a player that can not compete or contain Chris Paul or Deron Williams.. I suppose he sucks..

If he could contain or compete with a top2 NBA mvp candidate and the 2nd or 3rd best PG in the league we would be talking about a potential GOAT right now and not about him being a top3 pick.

He is 17 years old can you truly understand this?If he was playing in USA he would be a junior in highschool , do you believe that there is any player right now that can be in the same court with Chris Paul and co and not get raped at this age?Derrick Rose is exactly 2 years older than Rubio and he was the no1 pick in a very good draft this year.Can he compete with Paul even now?What about 2 years earlier?For me it was insanely impressive that a kid(that would play high-school ball right now if he was in USA) played against 12 NBA all-stars running circles around his team with pressure D and they didn't sweep the floor with him.

For those who mentioned Sergio Rodriguez,Rodriguez is 4 years older than Rubio and he was cut from team Spain FOR Rubio who came in and has a bigger role than Sergio ever had.Did i mention that Sergio is an NBA guard(A really bad by NBA standards but still he is in NBA).

For those who mention Rubio in HOF talk etC i say you are getting way ahead and you have to wait to see what he will do in the NBA.

But when talking about the draft Rubio is a clear-cut number 1 pick(Especially in next year draft which seems pretty weak) just because right now he is WAY AHEAD of his competition in his age group worldwide.

For all those comparisons you made with other Euro picks,none is valid.The Bargnanis,Darkos ,Gasols ,Dirks , Calderons of this world never played at this level and such big roles at Rubio's age.Dirk was playing in the 2nd League of German(!) at his age while Rubio is one of the leaders in one of the top teams in Spain and he is playing in the World Champion Spanish NT.All the others didn't even play in their teams and had just shown "flashes" vs their mature competition.

[Apollo64]

All this talk is a bit premature, since he plans to stay in Europe at least till 2011. He'll be 21 years old by then and still eligible for the draft, but if the growing salary trend in Europe continues, he might opt to stay there for good.

[jt142]

There is some really bold talk in here about how good this kid will be. There is no doubt about it, he is a really good prospect, but nobody is a lock to be a g reat pro. Saying he is better than D. ROse now and that D. Rose will be lucky to even be an all-star is just foolishness, you havent even seen the kid play one nba game yet. Scratch all that crap you see before they get to the league, its all about what happens when you are in the NBA that determines you mark on the league, Rose has proved nothing yet, same as Rubio. To be honest the kid didnt look too amazing to me from what i saw of him vs. the US. He had a few nice passes but that was about it. If anything I saw a player that couldnt not even come close to containing or competing with Chris Pual or Williams. Now yes he is only 17 so perhaps he can get stronger and learn more and get b etter, but based on what i saw, there was nothing exceptional about him to make people go crazy. As of right now i must honestly say w ith no bias at all, this kids hype procceeds him, people are jumping on his badnwagon without knowing more about him than what they heard someone else say or from watching a flashy youbtube clip.

I not against or for the kid, all im saying is he is young, and he is a euro player, you cant talk about h ow good he will be in t he league yet, you can only consider him a good prospect.

Woww...

"If anything" you saw a player that can not compete or contain Chris Paul or Deron Williams.. I suppose he sucks..

If he could contain or compete with a top2 NBA mvp candidate and the 2nd or 3rd best PG in the league we would be talking about a potential GOAT right now and not about him being a top3 pick.

He is 17 years old can you truly understand this?If he was playing in USA he would be a junior in highschool , do you believe that there is any player right now that can be in the same court with Chris Paul and co and not get raped at this age?Derrick Rose is exactly 2 years older than Rubio and he was the no1 pick in a very good draft this year.Can he compete with Paul even now?What about 2 years earlier?For me it was insanely impressive that a kid(that would play high-school ball right now if he was in USA) played against 12 NBA all-stars running circles around his team with pressure D and they didn't sweep the floor with him.

For those who mentioned Sergio Rodriguez,Rodriguez is 4 years older than Rubio and he was cut from team Spain FOR Rubio who came in and has a bigger role than Sergio ever had.Did i mention that Sergio is an NBA guard(A really bad by NBA standards but still he is in NBA).

For those who mention Rubio in HOF talk etC i say you are getting way ahead and you have to wait to see what he will do in the NBA.

But when talking about the draft Rubio is a clear-cut number 1 pick(Especially in next year draft which seems pretty weak) just because right now he is WAY AHEAD of his competition in his age group worldwide.

For all those comparisons you made with other Euro picks,none is valid.The Bargnanis,Darkos ,Gasols ,Dirks , Calderons of this world never played at this level and such big roles at Rubio's age.Dirk was playing in the 2nd League of German(!) at his age while Rubio is one of the leaders in one of the top teams in Spain and he is playing in the World Champion Spanish NT.All the others didn't even play in their teams and had just shown "flashes" vs their mature competition.

Whoa, hold on for a second. This is FIBA basketball, and one thing I know about the Euroleague is that their best players don't always pan out in the NBA. Just ask Jasikeviciius or V-Span how difficult it is to make the transition. Rubio will be a good player, but it's way too early to be putting him in the league with Williams, Paul, and any other top notch NBA PG. Yes, he can play with Paul and Williams for 20 minutes in a FIBA tournament. It doesn't mean jack squat. If I remember correctly Patrick Mills, the Australian PG who plays D-1, outplayed Williams and Paul in a pre-Olympic scrimmage. Does that mean Mills can play in the NBA or is as good as Paul or Williams? Heck no, but he had a good game. The main reason Paul and Williams are not racking up the stats on this USA team is because they don't have to and it's not their job. This is FIBA, not the NBA. Also, they're playing with a bunch of superstars. All they have to do is pass the ball and make open shots. If this was the NBA or they were playing for any other international team, things would be completely different.

But, yes, for a 17 year-old he's good. However, I don't think he's any better than Rose, Gordon, or Mayo were at that age. The big difference is, Spain doesn't have as much talent as America, so players like Rubio stick out like a sore thumb. If he was born in America, I don't think he'd be as highly touted.