For All Those Expecting Ricky Rubio To Be The "Next Big Thing"…

        Forget those flashy highlights that you have seen on YouTube. Disregard the articles that you read about the 21 year old. He's unathletic, can't shoot from the perimeter- can't really score for that matter, did not show much in leadership, yet is still going to be credited for being the starting point guard of the 2011 EuroBasket champion, Spain.

        When matched up with Bo McCalebb of Macedonia in the semi-finals and Tony Parker of France in the finals, Rubio managed to stay on the court for 29 minutes total, suffering from early-and-often foul trouble. He was limited with four fouls in each contest. But more telling is Rubio's shooting numbers- connecting on one made three-pointer in the entire tournament out of 15 tries (6.7 percent) and six two-point field-goals in 15 attempts (40 percent). Granted, he was only playing 15.5 minutes a contest on a team loaded with talent (tournament MVP Juan Carlos Navarro, Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Jose Calderon, Serge Ibaka), his assist (2.1 per game) numbers really should be better as should his shooting numbers since he is open or at least sagged off on most of his 30 total field-goal attempts (23.3 percent overall). Rubio got to the foul line just once in the entire 11 games.

        New Head Coach Rick Adelman has his work cut out for him after taking over for Minnesota this summer. David Kahn presents his challenges, but the current roster only has a few building blocks. Kevin Love for one, Derrick Williams, the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft is the other. Kahn was very high on Malcolm Lee, the UCLA combo-guard, and thought about taking him in the late-first round, but was able to trade back to the mid-second to get him.

        Now Rubio may be talented and hyped, but he's going to struggle mightily in the NBA. The future of this franchise remains in question with Kahn at the helm and Rubio at the point.


By President Corey Ruff - 9 - 19 - 11