Rubio's selfishness a slap in the face to Americans

On the same day a piece in the Wall Street Journal criticized the way America’s youth basketball system prepares its athletes for the pros, the biggest headache from this year’s NBA Draft came from overseas. Spain’s Ricky Rubio might have the court vision and passing ability of some the sport’s all-time greats, but lately he’s proven that he has the brains of some of its most foolish players.

Rubio was largely considered the most fundamentally-sound player in the draft, but he made headlines in recent weeks more for the stipulations he had for playing in the USA than for his abilities on the court. The 18 year old made it clear that he had no interest in playing for Memphis, who picked second, and he wasn’t crazy about Oklahoma City, who followed the Grizzlies. So when Sacramento took Tyreke Evans with the fourth pick, it became clear that Minnesota was going to land Rubio.

But shortly after the Timberwolves took the Spanish star, Rubio’s father made it clear that he had no interest in playing in Minnesota and Rubio himself followed up by saying the state was “too cold.” Suddenly the kid who once said he was so excited to play in the NBA that he’d play for free was allowing his agent to say he was considering heading back to Europe for a few seasons.

Isn’t a selfish point guard an oxymoron? That’s exactly what Rubio is proving to be by trying to manipulate the system and land only in a place he wants to be. Might as well give him a private airplane while you’re at it.

This disgusts me. The media spends so much time criticizing American players because they are too-selfish, too-greedy, too-black, but no one ever wants to get on the foreign players who say they’ve always dreamed about playing in the NBA, yet will only play in place that is the right fit for them. You think Blake Griffin is thrilled to be playing for the worst franchise in professional sports?

Of course not. But he’s ecstatic to have a chance to play in the NBA, something he’s probably thought about since the first time he picked up a basketball. You can attack the American system or the American player all you want, but at least they aren’t taking the draft for granted.

They know what it means to make it to the NBA and with the exception of a few (Steve Francis comes to mind) they’d play for any team willing to take them. Meanwhile, the foreign players, realizing they have all the leverage in the world, take advantage of the system. Rubio is just the latest player to abuse it. Remember when Yi Jianlian didn’t want to play for the Bucks because there weren’t enough Chinese people in Milwaukee? For the record, Rubio and Jianlian have the same agent – Dan Fegan.

Someone ask DeMar DeRozan and Brandon Jennings, two guys who grew up in Compton and will now play in Toronto and Milwaukee respectively, how much they care about not being surrounded by people who look just like them.

What a slap in the face to the American player. And you better believe the Americans recognize it and resent it.

No matter where Rubio ends up, I guarantee he won’t be a favorite in the locker room.

More on Ricky Rubio:
Media Old & New Concur : Walsh Should’ve Taken Jennings - CSTB
Timberwolves Should Hold Onto Their Guns With Rubio - The Sportz Assassin
Anybody seen Ricky Rubio at El Meson? - Star Tribune

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David Stern should lift NBA age requirement

Getting an opinion out of LeBron James can sometimes be more difficult than stopping him as he takes off on one of his patented blasts through the lane, but on Friday night, the MVP candidate made one thing clear: He is against the NBA’s minimum-age requirement.

While providing color-commentary for the NBA Rookie Challenge, a game which featured seven one-and-done players and just two who played college basketball for four seasons, James suggested that guys who plan on only being in school for one year are wasting both the university’s and their own time.

“What’s the point if you don’t want to be in school?” James asked.

It certainly won’t help you become an All Star. That much was clear on Sunday night at the official NBA All Star game, which had six Americans who made the jump straight to the league from high school. The top players from the game only strengthen the argument against Commissioner David Stern’s mandatory minimum rule. The leading scorers were Kobe Bryant (27 pts), James (20 pts) and Amare Stoudemire (19 pts) and none of them needed a year off before going pro.

In fact, you could argue that for the best players in the world, college might actually hinder their development. College athletes are only allowed to spend 20 hours a week working on their skills with their head coaches as opposed to the unlimited amount time they could practice in the NBA. There’s also that whole student part of the student-athlete, which forces players to attend class. And while I’m as big a fan of Western Civ as anyone, if your major is basketball, most of your time ought to be spent in the gym.

The lack of talent that surrounds an elite player is another problem. Think about it. These kids spend their entire lives playing in AAU tournaments with the best players in the country, but how many times per season does the top player in college basketball face any type of decent competition? Maybe a handful? A future lottery pick on some college campus is more likely to end up in a picture partying with Michael Phelps than he is to face a challenge on the court.

When it comes down to it, the NBA’s mandatory-minimum age requirement feels more like a punishment to future pros than anything else. And they aren’t that far off. After all, there are very few things that we can absolutely force upon any American. I can think of two: Jail, if they commit a crime, and college basketball, if they want to play in the NBA.

So when James asks what the point is, he’s actually making the best point of all. Going to college is a dream for millions of people all over the world. So is playing in the NBA.

But one shouldn’t have to happen to make the other a reality.

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