The (Re-)Education of Roko Ukic
March 18th, 2009
For those who worry that Roko Ukic isn’t getting enough minutes in games: he’s getting plenty of time at practice, and plenty of attention from the Raptors staff. Read more »
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The Ultimate Pops Mensah-Bonsu Scouting Report
March 12th, 2009
How appropriate: courtesy of 2nd Round Reach.
Highlights of new Toronto Raptor Pops Mensah-Bonsu remind me of Jamario Moon, while his name brings to mind former Raptor Pape Sow. But is that all there is to Pops? I go as far as Spain to give you this Ultimate Scouting Report. Read more »
Ricky Rubio, dropping euros(?)
January 14th, 2009Here’s a video of Ricky Rubio in a viral campaign in Spain.
Thanks to Luis in Doug Smith’s comment section.
UPDATE: Some thoughts from Raul Jimenez -
It’s a McDonald’s campaign. I watched it on ACB.com and they have also created a Youtube channel. Ricky is 18 years old now and he’s starting to appear in commercials (he didn’t do it before, except for an ACB sponsor’s commercial). His parents and his club, Joventut, took care to keep him off that world while he was younger (in Spain, 18 is the age to be considered an adult). This advertisement reminds me of the classic one with Larry Bird and M. Jordan in the eighties [Pete's note: It's the early nineties].
It’s not that I have something against this, although I don’t think McDonald’s is the best brand to represent. I mean, it’s not the healthiest food to eat as we all know, and with everybody from governments talking about fatter kids, about not abusing fast food … but, you know, that’s the way life is. Anyway, I think that many brands will fight for him now, and I suppose that he’ll get good money with advertisements which is fine (his contract with Joventut isn’t really high).
UPDATE 2: More Rubio videos at RickyLaCuela.com (”Ricky The School puts it in”).
Remembering Robert Archibald
December 16th, 2008
A familiar name resurfaces: Robert Archibald, former Raptors centre and Grizzlies’ second-round pick. Raul Jimenez is praising his defensive work(!) for Unicaja Malaga, Jorge Garbajosa’s old stomping grounds.
Archibald has a special place in my heart because he’s Scottish (like my wife), “the only Scot to make it in the NBA.” Nice to see him finding success in basketball, showing some veteran wiliness against Sofoklis “Baby Shaq” Schortsianitis and other Euroleague stars.
In defence of Jose
December 12th, 2008
Good news: Jose doesn’t have to guard Carlos Arroyo anymore. Bad news: He has to guard all the other PGs in the NBA. (Warren Toda, EFE)
I wrote a serious-minded post (well, more serious than you usually find here) over at RJM Basketball about Jose Calderon.
Yes, I said RJM Basketball — that’s Raul Jimenez’s new English blog. Plus, Raul’s been busy posting at Solobasket and looking for a coaching gig. How does he do it? Must be the insight and the passion.
He also translated my Jose post into Spanish AND got a comment … nice. Here’s the comment, translated by Google Language Tools:
Well, [Jose] never has had a spectacular sideways [lateral] movement for the physical conditions you have, that is true. Not a great defender, but neither is bad bad.What I do not know is whether the improvement is through a different attitude, if not over whether, or if you happen to teach him to defend otherwise.How good will they have outside entrances [???] also gives more vidilla [a little more life to?] the blog.
That was from Alvaro Martinez. Raul’s response:
I hope that Jeff is usual with a more or less regularly. The truth is that it is a real pleasure to have a point of view from North America.
Well, Raul, I actually try to be unusual. But I’d be honoured to be a regular on RJM Basketball.
Goodbye, Sam-u-el
December 4th, 2008
(Sung to the tune of Candle In The Wind)
Goodbye Sam-u-el
Though I never knew you at all
You had the desire to fight back
When those around you scrawled
They scrawled from the internets
And they whispered into your brain
Though I never knew you at all
You had the desire to fight back
When those around you scrawled
They scrawled from the internets
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you lose your hair
And it seems to me you coached your Raps
With a fire in your gut
And they made you lose your hair
And it seems to me you coached your Raps
With a fire in your gut
Never knowing who to cling to
when B.C. iced your butt
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just timid
Your language is just too hardcore
Afraid you’d flip your lid
when B.C. iced your butt
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just timid
Your language is just too hardcore
Afraid you’d flip your lid
P.S. To Jay Triano/Bryan Colangelo: assistant coach with international experience available for hire.
How the Celtics play the end of a quarter
November 24th, 2008Here’s the latest video analysis from Coach Raul Jimenez. Perfect timing, after the Celtics easily handle our Rappies…
I really like some of the offensive situations from the champions, the Boston Celtics. This one is a special offense for the end of the quarter. They clear out for the point guard, and place their center and power forward on the opposite side. What they want using this offensive set is to assure that Glen Davis and Kevin Garnett’s defenders will help when the PG, Rajon Rondo, drives to the basket. As we can see, the defenders are ready to make that help. Then, Davis sets a back pick and Garnett goes to the corner to receive the pass for an open shot.
It could have been an easier shot had the PG gone harder towards the rim, but anyway, Garnett has time and space to make his shot, although this time he misses.
If Rubio is número uno, who is dos?
November 21st, 2008
The following is the aforementioned remainder of a quick Q&A with Raul Jimenez.
Pete: Everybody is talking about Ricky Rubio. Is he as good as people think he is? What makes him so special?
Raul: Yes he is. He played for the first time in ACB league against professional players when he was 14 years old. Now he’s 18 and has a silver medal and some Spanish and European titles. He has played in Euroleague [since he was] 16 years old.
He’s a very intelligent player. He knows the game as if he was 30 years old. A hard worker, his coaches love him, his teammates love him. He’s a great defender, and is getting better every day. Not only he can steal the ball, he can make good helps, force offensive fouls, grab rebounds, block shots. His [wingspan] is 6′7″ and his hands are really quick. He can pass, he can drive, he can shoot (he’s improving his mid and long range shooting).
The thing I like most is that he can play a final with a smile on his face. He enjoys the game. And his mind is clear: He’s staying in Europe for some years, he knows he has time before going to America and he will not force that trip. So you’ll have to wait a little bit my friends…
Pete: Who else in Spain should NBA fans be excited about?
Raul: There already are NBA scouts watching Victor Claver, a forward from Pamesa Valencia [Pete's note: Check out the Antawn Jamison/Jorge Garbajosa comparison on NBADraft.net]. He will probably be on the National Team next summer. He’s a good 3PT shooter and has a great ability to play in open court. For his size – 6′9″ – he should be a force in the low post against forwards, but he still has to develop this area of his game (he has the skills, but he needs the strength and, more important, the will). In Spain he can also play power forward without problems but in USA he would be a “3″. He’s got great potential, but a long way to be an NBA player.
(Claver photo courtesy of ADN.es)
Rudy Fernandez versus Juan Carlos Navarro
November 20th, 2008
This was taken from a quick Q&A I had with Raul Jimenez. I’ll post the rest in the near future.
Pete: Why is Rudy Fernandez doing so well in such a short time in the NBA? Why didn’t Juan Carlos Navarro reach the same level of success?
Raul: Rudy is a much more physical player. He can play above the rim as everyone saw in the Olympics final. He’s younger and hungrier than Navarro was. I think that Navarro’s goal was to be in the NBA and show everybody he could play there. Rudy wants to be a star. He’s a more complete player, because he can shoot, he can dunk and he can play better defense. His former team (Joventut Badalona) is a defense-oriented team, and in the last years they have played a lot of press defenses, traps … developing Rudy’s defensive game. Both Rudy and Navarro have a deep knowledge of the game, but when you add Rudy’s physical side, you have a true diamond. He’s doing well, but you’ll see even better as time goes by.
(Photo by Mark J. Terrill/AP)
Related reading: Navarro dumps the NBA (Kelly Dwyer, Ball Don’t Lie)
A Diamond for Rudy Fernandez
November 19th, 2008This is the first of many, many posts, I hope, by Raul Jimenez. Get set for video highlights and analysis of NBA and European players from a professional coach.
Rudy Fernandez has an important role for a rookie of the Portland Trail Blazers (currently 6-5, seventh in the Western Conference). Playing beside Brandon Roy, who makes a lot of shots and is the go-to guy in critical situations, we can say that Rudy is finding his place.
Some days ago, against Utah, Rudy showed some of the skills that allowed him to reach the NBA. Portland ran a diamond set for him, and he finished in three different ways, showing that it’s a hard task to stop him. He can go hard to the rim, he can give the extra pass, he can make his shots… a lot of options! He has the skills and the will. It’s not strange that Portland fans are already impressed by Rudy.
In the video we watch the three situations, the first two in consecutive plays. In the first one, he receives and drives to get fouled. In the second one, he curls and assists on LaMarcus Aldridge’s dunk. In the third one, he comes off the screen and hits the three (breaking a 0-9 run against Portland).
