Ricky Rubio

2009 NBA Draft: Top 10 By Class

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:43:25 -0700

Top Ten Prospects By Class

Last Updated April 22nd. (Note that the status of Draft entrants is still in flux.)

Click on player for complete profile & scouting report. More profiles added daily. Ranking based on CHN's 6-star ranking system (see below)

Freshman

1) Tyreke Evans - PG/SG - Memphis

2) BJ Mullens - C - Ohio State

3) DeMar DeRozan - SG - USC

4) Jrue Holiday - SG - UCLA

Sophomore

1) Blake Griffin - PF - Oklahoma

2) James Harden - SG - Arizona State

3) Jeff Teague - PG/SG - Wake Forest

4) James Johnson - SF - Wake Forest

5) Patrick Mills - PG - St. Mary's

6) Craig Brackins - F - Iowa State

7) Patrick Patterson - SF/PF - Kentucky

8) DeJuan Blair - PF - Pittsburgh

9) Nick Calathes - PG - Florida

10) Jonny Flynn - PG - Syracuse

Junior

1) Hasheem Thabeet - C - UCONN

2) Jordan Hill - PF - Arizona

3) Ty Lawson - PG - UNC

4) Stephen Curry - PG/SG - Davidson

5) Earl Clark - SF - Louisville

6) Gerald Henderson - SG - Duke

7) Chase Budinger - SF - Arizona

8) Wayne Ellington - SG - UNC

9) Damion James - SF - Texas

10) Jodie Meeks - SG - Kentucky

Senior

1) Sam Young - SF - Pittsburgh

2) Eric Maynor - PG - VCU

3) Tyler Hansbrough - PF/C - UNC

4) Darren Collison - PG - UCLA

5) Terrence Williams - SG - Louisville

6) AJ Price - PG - UCONN

7) Marcus Thornton - SG - LSU

8) Josh Heytvelt - PF - Gonzaga

9) Lee Cummard - SG - BYU

10) Toney Douglas - PG - Florida St

International

1) Ricky Rubio - PG - DKV Joventut

2) Brandon Jennings - PG - Arizona

3) Omri Casspi - SF - Macabbi Tel Aviv

4) Vladimir Dasic - SF - Buducnost Podgorica

5) Rodrigues Beaubois - PG - Cholet

6) Nando de Colo - PG - Cholet

7) Vitor Faverini - PF/C - Malaga

8) Vyacheslav Kravtsov - C - Zalgiris Kaunas

9) Henk Norel - PF - DKV Joventut

10) Gasper Vidmar - C - Fenerbahce

CHN's Six-Star Ranking System

= Superstar/All-NBA Potential

= Potential NBA All-Star

= Consistent NBA Starter

= 6th Man/Fringe Starter

= Career Reserve

= Fringe NBA Player/12th Man

0 stars = Life in the Minor Leagues

More

Top 10 By Position Ranking

Current NBA Mock Draft Position

Complete NBA Draft coverage

2009 Top 100 Ranking & Profiles

Ricky Rubio: NBA Draft Profile

Jeff Fox — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:38:02 -0800

Ricky Rubio

Team: DKV Joventut

Birth Year: 1990

Position: PG

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 180lbs

Accolades: Spanish National Team, Spanish Under-16 National Team, Spanish Under-18 National Team, First Team All-Spanish League (08).

Scouting Report: Pistol Pete for the YouTube generation.

Strengths: Incredible passer - has excellent court vision and is a creative passer. Very unselfish - prefers to set up teammates rather than score. Disruptive presence on defense - quick feet and hands - led the Spanish League in steals last season; averaged 3.2 swipes per game as a 16-year-old in the Euroleague. Fantastic ball handler - very elusive, tons of moves. Has blow-by speed with the ball - can get by his defender and into the lane. Has three-point range on his jumper. Extremely experienced - has played professionally since he was 15 - extensive international experience with Spain, including last year’s Olympics. Long wingspan - reportedly 6’9”.

Weaknesses: Needs to become a more consistent shooter. Injury and surgery done on shooting wrist caused him to miss a lot of time this past season and subsequently kept him from improving his jumper. Needs to add weight and strength. Can be too flashy at times - tries to force passes into tight coverage. Not a big scorer - only averaged in double figures in scoring once in his pro career. Still very young - especially for a point guard.

Projected 2009 Draft Range: Top three pick.

Consensus: While we compare Rubio to Pistol Pete above, Jason Kidd is probably a better comparison (passing, defense, ball handling, poor shooting). Whether he ever reaches Kidd’s lofty level is unknown, but he should be a very good NBA player regardless.

Stats:

http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=LFW - Euroleague

http://www.acb.com/stsacumjug.php?cod_jugador=BA5 – Spanish League

NBA Draft on CollegeHoops.net

More 2009 NBA Draft Profiles

Current NBA Mock Draft Position

Complete NBA Draft coverage

CHN's Six-Star Ranking System w/ 2008 Equivalents

= Superstar/All-NBA Potential - Michael Beasley

= Potential NBA All-Star - Derrick Rose

= Consistent NBA Starter - Brook Lopez

= 6th Man/Fringe Starter - Russell Westbrook

= Career Reserve - Roy Hibbert

= Fringe NBA Player/12th Man - JR Giddens

0 stars = Life in the Minor Leagues - Drew Neitzel

Rubio vs Jennings: Showdown in Spain

Jeff Fox — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:14:53 -0800

Further proof of the globalization of basketball was on display at the Palau Oli'mpic de Badalona in Badalona, Spain on Thursday night. Rather than at a college gym somewhere in the U.S., like in the past, Badalona was the sight of the showdown between the top two point guard prospects in the 2009 NBA draft class.

The game in question was the second Euroleague match up between home team DKV Joventut and the Italian league's Lottomatica Roma. And the players in question, of course, are teenage point guard prodigies Ricky Rubio from Spain and America's Brandon Jennings. The team's first clash - a Roma win on Oct 30th - was missed by Rubio as he was still healing from surgery on a wrist he injured in the gold medal game in Beijing. So the much-anticipated match up between these two point guard studs had to wait until the game in Badalona. There was plenty of intrigue heading into the game - Roma's coach resigned earlier this week, Rubio barely played in his first two games back last week and Jennings recently missed a game due to the flu.

With Jennings playing a lot of shooting guard (former Penn star Ibrahim Jaaber got the bulk of the point guard minutes) and Rubio playing less than nine minutes in the game, the showdown turned out to be pretty anticlimactic. However, Rubio did show his amazing speed, handle and passing ability in the first half, blowing by Jennings a couple of times for nice dishes to teammates. He also showed what a disruption he can be on defense, forcing a turnover the second he got into the game. Jennings, meanwhile, played a season high of almost 23 minutes, hitting for 12 points and two assists. Rubio was held scoreless but did contribute three assists to his team's 97-93 victory. Chances are the next time these two square off will be in Jennings' homeland - on an NBA court.