It really is not so much about the stats. It has more to do that NBA scouts look at skills a player has and their potential to get better. Jennings was also not the greatest thing in Europe but he has panned out well in the NBA. There are also a lot of cases of guys that did well in the NBA but not doing so well in Europe. Rubio is 20 years old, I think among the harsh criticism that seems to be forgotten. He has displayed great ball handling skills and vision and passing. Also he did so against Team USA when he was what...18 or 19? That will get you hype with NBA scouts who are not always looking at stats. Just like Jordan Hill was not one of the best big men in college the year he came out. Blair was better yet Hill went higher. Tyrus Thomas was not better than Glen Davis in college. But NBA scouts saw his ability to jump out of the roof and that he had a developing jumper and therefore that propelled him far above his teammate. Just like how Kemba and Jimmer will be taken after Kyrie despite being better college players.
What is your verdict on Beasley? IMO, if a team depends on him to be their lead or 2nd scorer, they are toast. Since scoring is about the only thing he does worth a dime, his role on a good team would be 6th or 7th man. JayGoogle, putting Rubio in the class of Brandon Jennings is about right. I agree with you. But people who expect him to be a top-5 PG "the minute he steps into the NBA" are way off IMO. I don't think he has anywhere near that potential. Can he be a very good floor general and have a decent career, maybe so.
I think that Rubio will redefine the passing game, he has passing ability like Jwill. At 20 years old, it may take him a few years to "get it." PG prospects are notoriously slow developers, because the position is the hardest to learn on the court. As good as Derrick Rose is, he still hasn't learned to be a pg, and he may never learn to be one. He gets by on his athletic ability alone. But Rubio is certainly fun to watch play, even now.
I'm not sold on Beasley, I thought he was great for the first half of the season but since then he's been average. He can still get you 20 points but its going to take him 17ish shots for him to get there, and like you said he doesn't do much besides scoring so when he's being inefficient, he's being a liability. I still think he's has a ton of potential and could be a great player especially if somebody could get through his thick head and get him to use his size and length to his advantage, so I'm not ready to give up on him just yet BUT if the opportunity arises that the Wolves can pick Harrison Barnes (assuming they miss out on Irving) then they shouldn't hesitate on pulling the trigger.
Rubio's gift is certainly passing, but "redefining it" seems like a stretch. If he has PG instincts, it shouldn't take him that long to "get it". It didn't take CP3 or D-Will a few years, why Rubio? By his 2nd or 3rd season it should become clear what his place is in the NBA. He should be fun to watch, but the guy better learn to shoot at least a little bit or his ceiling won't be very high.
Seems like Beasley slowed down after he had that ankle injury. He kept trying to play through and finally sat out. Came back and then had the hip injury. I don't know if he slowed down because the beginning of the season wasn't the real Beasley or if injuries did it. Hope it was the injuries.
What skills does Rubio have? His skills are at best average in the Euroleague for his position. At best, average. So that does not explain it.
Jennings sucked in Euroleague, but Rubio sucks worse, MUCH worse by comparison. Rubio is older and has a lot more experience playing in Europe and is not a rookie. So by comparison, ennings did much better than Rubio in Euroleague. Also, not a single thing about Jennins has improved in the NBA versus how he played in the Euroleague. He still does not play D, he still has poor shot selection, he still shoots terrible percentages from the field. The only difference is that when he was in Europe his coach wanted to win all the games so he didn't let Jennings just do whatever he wanted in terms of taking any shot he felt like, or when he refused to play D (often) he got benched. If he threw up a terribly wild and stupid shot he 2-3 times in a tow (often) he got benched. In the NBA he is just being allowed to play however he wants to. So more minutes and more shot attempts. That's it. He still has a low basketball IQ, he still does not play good defense, he still has bad shot selection and he still is one of the most inefficient shooters there is. Literally nothing about Jennings has improved in the NBA from how he was in Europe. And to be fair in the assessment, even though Jennings played bad in Euroleague, he still could create his own shot in the open floor and also create for others on a pass in half court. He just could not finish at the rime or in the lane because the game is so much more physical than the NBA due to the rules and how it is reffed. But he COULD create a shot oppurtunity for himself and he COULD make a play in half court to pass. Rubio cannot create his own shot and can't finish, but he can't even create his own shot. The only way he gets his own shot is by being left wide open and not being defended. Even then he cannot finish. He also cannot create a pass play in the half court. He is just average at running the pick and roll and in the half court he cannot create for others hardly at all. Of course Euroelague defense is better than the NBA because of the pure zone, the more physical play, and the much more intense nature of the games, BUT Rubio still cannot create in the half court on passes. Huge red flag. Besides that, Jennings was NEVER in Europe left wide open and unguarded by the other team. NEVER. Rubio is literally left unguarded the entire game by the opposing teams. And when you look at those stats and shooting percentages please factor that into what you are seeing there. That is being left WIDE OPEN and not only that but actually UNGUARDED by the other teams. Rubio's team is basically playing 4 on 5 on offense whenever he is in the game. So the fact of the matter is that it is a huge myth and completely untrue that Jennings and Rubio have a similar performance in Euroleague. Jennings was pretty bad in Euroleague but he was still many times, many times better than Rubio is. And like I said, it is also a myth that Jennings somehow got better in the NBA. Nope. He is the same exact player he was in Euroleague it is just that he plays on a crappy team in the NBA that really does not care about winning so he is allowed to do whatever he wants to help sell tickets because he can make some exciting plays. That's it. Rubio is shooting 31% from the field being left unguarded by the opposition. He is truly one of the most anemic and weak offensive players I have ever seen in Euroleague, and for a point guard he might be THE worst.
What he did against USA (And several of their players including Chris Paul and Kobe acknowledging his talent). To NBA Scouts again, that is all that matters. Once they have tape against his play against NBA guys I doubt they think much about how he's doing in Europe. If so then wouldn't the T'wolves trade the guy already after seeing such poor play? I'm willing to bet his value is still high among most teams. NBA scouts draft guys on potential, not what they can do now but what they can do 5 years from now. Again, this is why Tyrus Thomas gets drafted over his teammate Glen Davis...when it was Big Baby Davis that led his team to the final 4 that year. And why Dwight Howard didn't enter the NBA with a ton of skills either, hell all he could do was jump then. I'm not arguing against you about Rubio and how many skills he has, you said it was a big mystery as to why Rubio has a lot of hype in the USA. I'm trying to explain why that is. The fact is the NBA scouts think he has these skills, which is why he went so high in the first place. Either ways, PG and Center are the two most difficult positions. It's no surprise he'll struggle with it at such a young age. Again he's what...20 years old now? His age plays a large part in why he has hype also. The NBA LOVES young players, the younger the better which is staying in college 4 years is seen as a negative for players now.
Well the NBA has a serious problem with how they asses players then. Every single time Team USA plays a game numerous players from the other team play well against them. If that is the measuring stick for being a top 5 pick for a young international player, then it is really low. I am sure that Rubio will be better in the NBA than he is in Euroleague because there is no pure zone, there is a defense 3 seconds rule, there is the no hand check rule, the refs call the game extremely tight, any NBA marketing boy (like Rubio) gets free trips to the foul line...... The Wolves are a horrible team and don't care if they lose every game and just want to sell tickets, so Rubio should play endlessly no matter how many losses it causes, etc. But, the fact is bottom line, he is not a good player at all. In fact, the age argument does not even hold up to me at all. There have been many Euroleague point guards that were much better than he is at age 20 that did not play in the NBA, did not get drafted, etc. I just don't see these magical skills that the NBA seems to think Rubio has. He can make great passes on the fast break and he can steal the ball really well if he wants to, and he is a very good free throw shooter - other than that? Absolutely awful at every single aspect of the game.
On another note, I cant believe Minny finished worose than the Cavs. Minny had far superior roster. The cavs had a d-league team for half the season. If Rubio ends up being a bust then Minny might have a fire sale.
http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/84950/180 Mirotic was one of several young stars of whom this year's Euroleague head coaches thought highly. He edged out Power Electronics Valencia forward Victor Claver, who finished second in the voting. Last season’s runner-up, Jan Vesely of Partizan mt:s, finished third, while Lietuvos Rytas big man Jonas Valanciunas was fourth and Bojan Bogdanovic of Cibona Zagreb and Nihad Djedovic of Lottomatica Roma tied for fifth. In the voting by coaches for the best player in the Euroleague age 22 and under, Ricky Rubio did not even finish in the top 6. I hope this clearly indicates how incredibly overrated he is.
