At the conclusion of his last Holy Hoops column for Downtown, Joe Ingles asked for readers to tweet their choice for this week’s edition. The options: an interview with somebody high-profile or a Twitter Q & A with Joe. Well, the people made their choice loud and clear and our man Joe has delivered in spades. Ladies and Gentlemen….. Ricky Rubio!
Joe Ingles: We played and roomed together my first year in Barcelona and your last year. Did you understand my Australian accent at the start?
Ricky Rubio: At the beginning it was hard. Plus my English wasn’t that good either. But by the time I got used to it and actually you helped me to improve. But your accent is funny though.
Ingles: Was winning the Euroleague title with Barca one of your greatest memories?
Rubio: Yes, no doubt. I remember when I was 13 years old watching the F4 in Barcelona and then Jasikevičius winning 3 in a row and I always wanted to win it. It was a great season overall but that F4 in Paris will always be in my memories.
Ingles: How often do you think back on that 2008 Olympic Gold Medal game? You and your Spanish teammates were SO close!
Rubio: I think it’s the best game I’ve ever played in. Both teams played hard and we did everything to win and we couldn’t. I remember when Rudy hit a 3 and they called a time out and we could see their faces. They couldn’t believe we were that close.
Ingles: Now that he’s not your GM, what was your internal reaction when David Kahn drafted Jonny Flynn the pick after you were selected and then Ty Lawson at pick 18? How much did that play a part in your decision to initially stay in Europe?
Rubio: Well when I was drafted I didn’t know what happened. After a while and then the media asked me about how I was feeling that Minnesota drafted two more PGs after me. I didn’t know what to answer but it didn’t influence on my decision to stay in Europe. The only thing that influenced it was my big buy out.
Ingles: With you, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Steph Curry, Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson & Jeff Teague all drafted in 2009, do you think your draft class gets enough recognition for how strong it has been?
Rubio: When I was thinking to present to the draft they were telling me that 2009 draft was not very talented but after it everybody showed his talent and it has been a great draft class.
Ingles: Looking in from the outside, Rick Adelman seems like one of the smartest, most underrated coaches going around. How do you find him to play for?
Rubio: He lets players play and he gives you a lot of room to take decisions. He has more than 1,000 wins with a fun style and very productive.
Ingles: Rumor has it you are good at half court shooting, but you could never beat me. Is this true?
Rubio: Yes I’m good and I beat you every time so don’t lie and tell them the true.
Ingles: How did KLove really bust up his hand last year?
Rubio: Hahaha! No comments. Only he knows how.
Ingles: When are we getting the great man Ricky Rubio down to Australia for a visit?
Rubio: No lies, on my bucket list there is an Australia trip and spend like 3 months there visiting. I heard it’s one of most beautiful places of the world.
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Follow Ricky on Twitter: @rickyrubio9
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