Ricky Rubio talks Thibodeau, scoring and 'haters' in SI interview
The Twin Cities media gets access to Wolves guard Ricky Rubio fairly often, but a recent Q&A with Rubio published by SI.com still caught my eye for some of the insights and comments.
Let’s take a look at a few that stood out:
*Rubio was asked what he’s working on to improve at this point in his career. Said Rubio: “I gotta be more aggressive. But at the same time, run the team. It’s just something, ‘Should I run the team or should I score?’ I gotta learn how to balance that, and be more aggressive sometimes.”
It’s good that Rubio realizes that, but maybe a little concerning that he’s still figuring that out more than 300 games into his NBA career. Ideally, a modern point guard should run the team AND score. Perhaps he was speaking more to the idea of figuring out when to do what rather than whether one or the other should be points of emphasis? (It should also be noted that the interview was done when the Wolves were in Washington D.C. last week. In the three games since facing the Wizards, Rubio is averaging 11.7 points and 13 assists per game — a great balance of contributing points while also setting up teammates).
*Rubio was asked if constant talk about his three-point shooting wears him down. Rubio said it used to but, “experience gives me that thing where I only care about me, and what I have to say about me. You’re going to have haters, forever. As much success as you have, you’re going to have even more (haters). So just focus on what you do.”
*When asked about his relationship with head coach Tom Thibodeau, Rubio said, “He’s a really defensive-minded guy, really knows a lot about basketball, spends a lot of time in the gym every day. He wants to get better. We just have to get on the same page.”
That speaks pretty well to some of the rough patches in Rubio’s game this year as he adjusts to a new coach — some of which, as noted, appear to be getting smoothed out even in the week since the interview.
*Finally, in an amusing but telling moment, Rubio was asked which Wolves player should be President of the United States. He said Cole Aldrich because he’s a “smart guy, knows what he’s doing, and because all the other guys are 20. … (laughs) I can’t pick any of the 20-year-olds.”
This plus a reference to Rubio preferring to play chess while a lot of his teammates like video games is a reminder that Ricky — at least on this team — is not young. He’s been in the league longer than anyone else in the top 8 in minutes on the Wolves, and only Gorgui Dieng (by less than a year) is older among typical starters than the 26-year-old Rubio.