Ricky Rubio’s extra time in Europe may have done the same thing for his game that it did for Brandon Jennings — make people forget how good he might be. After one year with Lottomatica Roma in Italy instead of college, Jennings had plenty of detractors thanks to unimpressive statistics: just 5.5 points and 2.3 assists a game. He went on to average 15.5 points and 5.7 assists as an NBA rookie.
Rubio, drafted five spots ahead of Jennings in the 2009 draft, saw his numbers fall in each of his past two seasons with Regal Barcelona, dropping his career averages to 6.5 points and 3.7 assists. Yet with his early play for the Timberwolves (9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists), including playing every minute of the fourth quarter in Sunday’s win over Dallas, Rubio could be on the way to an impressive first season in the NBA just like Jennings.
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A reminder: Minnesota took Rubio with a pick they were given by the Wizards in return for Randy Foye and Mike Miller.
– Craig Stouffer
