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Sergio Rodriguez

Sergio Rodriguez profile
Drafted #27 in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Trailblazers
Height: 6'3" (191 cm)
Weight: 170 lbs (77 kg)
Position: PG
Hometown: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Current Team: Real Madrid
Win - Loss: 2 - 0
Sergio Rodriguez International Free Agent Scouting Video

Articles

Sergio Rodriguez International Free Agent Scouting Video

Mike Schmitz
Mike Schmitz
Jul 06, 2016, 05:35 pm
Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of Real Madrid point guard Sergio Rodriguez. What can the flashy, 30-year old Spanish point guard bring to the Philadelphia 76ers?

NBA Scouting Reports: Filling in the Blanks- the Point Guards

Matt Williams
Matt Williams
Oct 09, 2009, 09:46 pm
Overview: Spanish point guard whose creativity and passing ability allows him to standout. Possesses nice size for a point guard, but lacks bulk, length and ideal athleticism, which shows up primarily on the defensive end. Fairly fluid and agile, but lacks a degree of explosiveness that hurts him around the rim and makes it difficult for him to create his own shot against more physical defenders. Able to get to the rim by using changes of speed and impressive ball-handling ability, but typically looks to dish off rather than try and score himself. One of the most entertaining passers around. Still needs to develop his outside shot to make up for his lack of athleticism. Wasn’t the most efficient player for Estudiantes in the ACB or Euroleague, but proved to be an exciting prospect due to his masterful court vision. Saw solid minutes on the highest levels of European basketball at a young age. Played some meaningful minutes as a rookie, but saw his playing time fluctuate throughout Portland’s rapid rebuilding process. Traded to Sacramento in a salary dump. Faces a similar situation with two players in front of him. Could easily solidify his spot on the depth chart by improving his consistency from deep and becoming at least an average defender.

Offense: Not an efficient scorer, shooting under 40% from the field the past two years, but is as pure a point guard as you’ll find. Gets nearly half of his offensive opportunities running the pick and roll, with spot ups, isolations, and fast breaks accounting for the rest of his touches. Biggest weakness lies in his lack of a consistent outside shot. Displays passable form, but his consistency is still a work in progress due to somewhat questionable follow through. Leaves a lot of shots short and tends to fade away a bit. Not a great shooter off the dribble. Has improved his ability to catch and shoot from the outside, but still has a ways to go. Not a great finisher at the rim due to a lack of explosiveness. Makes his living as a passer. Always ranks in the top ten of nearly every per-40 minute passing metric. Not the quickest player, but handles the ball extremely well, and gets in the lane using subtle changes of speed and direction. Very deceptive with his first step. Has always had an excellent feel for getting his defender off balance, making a move, and then finding a teammate. Is not going to score a lot around the rim, and doesn’t get to the free throw line much to compensate. Not as flashy as he used to be, allowing him to cut down on his turnovers, though he remains extremely turnover prone on a per-minute basis. Always looking to create an easy look for his teammates, and does a great job putting getting his teammates the ball where they are comfortable on the pick and roll and in drive and dish situations. Most of his turnovers come on drives when he gets deep in the line and isn’t able to locate an outlet. Has half the equation figured out, but needs to dramatically improve his efficiency from the field and be more consistent from the foul line to take his game to the next level. Doesn’t need to score in bunches, just needs to take better advantage of the possessions he already uses.

Defense: Mediocre defender due to his lack of lateral quickness. length and strength. Really lacks the physical tools to not get taken advantage of by the quicker, stronger and more physical point guards of the league. Shows a good stance and moves his feet well when he’s pressuring the ball, knowing what matchups he can play up on and which he can’t. Doesn’t have too much trouble getting through screens despite his lack of strength, but will struggle when teams look to isolate him. Will freelance from time to time looking for a steal, and shows quick hands recovering loose balls and stripping opposing players. Pursues long-rebounds, sometimes putting himself out of position Doesn’t show the great fundamentals closing out shooters, and is often a step late recovering. Size doesn’t help him when contesting shots either. Has made strides under Nate McMillan, but still has a ways to go in order to justify bigger minutes.

Sergio Rodriguez NBA Draft Scouting Report

May 24, 2006, 03:48 pm
Strengths
Sergio Rodríguez is an off-the-charts basketball talent; one of just a few players capable of surprising even the most knowledgeable minds in the game with his moves. A very creative playmaker, he has a superb ability to generate offense, whether for himself or for his teammates, based on an outstanding skill set.

Not a superb athlete, nor a physical freak, Sergio fills the bill for the basic tools required to carry his game to the next level. At 6-3, he has good size to handle the position while showing a nice enough frame for a point guard. Even if there’s still significant work to do, his body development in the past few years has been noticeable, particularly during the previous season. He won’t blow anybody with his athleticism, but he’s a fairly quick guy and he let’s his skills do the rest.

As you can see, there is nothing particularly special regarding his physical profile; what really sets him apart from virtually every other youngster is his skill set. To start with, Sergio is a terrific ball-handler. More in the line to what we usually see in American playmakers, he dominates the ball. High dribble, low dribble, crossover, behind-the-back dribble, he’s mastered every single variant at a young age with both hands. But he’s not an exhibitionist; it’s only a matter of gaining advantages through this skill. He’s really quick driving the ball, and creative in order to get to where he wants.

With these credentials, it’s very hard to stop him whenever to decides to step into the lane. He’s a great one-on-one player. Even if he’s not that explosive, he has a nice first step, terrific footwork, and the ability to easily change gears. Predictable is not a word in Sergio’s dictionary, although it’s true that he tends to go right looking the way for the basket. One of his patented moves is, once in motion, faking going right and then crossing the ball and slashing the other way right by his defender, a move that is very difficult to contest. Sergio also shows nice ability finishing his slashing moves. Although he might have his shot blocked from time to time, particularly when he’s trying to drive past too many rivals, he usually finds the way to leave the layup, using the glass if necessary. He also has an effective short off-the-dribble jumpshot that he can release even over players that are significantly taller than him.

Perhaps the most spectacular among his skills, Sergio is a consummate passer. Enjoying outstanding court vision, it’s in those slashing situations where he probably shines the most. Whenever he forces a defensive rotation, he has the ability to find the open man, intelligently seeing the floor and utilizing the opposite side of the floor for a quick reverse to get the defense off-balance. He’s automatic in pick and roll plays, showing perfect timing to distribute the ball, or finishing himself if the defenders opt not to switch. It’s needless to say how helpful this will be in the NBA, where there’s more emphasis on individual defenses rather than team defenses. When Sergio is on the court, it’s not rare to see a wing cutting by the baseline while the pick and roll takes all the attention, and to be perfectly fed by Rodríguez.

Sergio is not only a drive and dish player; he can distribute from the perimeter, rewarding strong off the ball movement, not only for the players going outside looking for an open look from the three-point line, but also being able to deliver difficult entry passes on sharp cuts to the basket. Like we’ve said, he’s not an exhibitionist, and you won’t see him performing a fancy pass just for the sake of doing it. He does like to give the ball up with a no-look pass, but on one hand it helps to create confusion for the defense, and on the other, for him it’s as easy and natural as breathing. He can use both hands or just one in the delivery (usually the right), while he elegantly takes advantage of the bounce pass when he finds the opportunity. Behind-the-back passes or other things of that nature is not the most common thing to see him do; only when the situation requires it. He’s perhaps even a better passer in transition. He never gives up the chance of a full-court pass if it will create an advantage for his team. If he takes the ball up-court on a fastbreak, he shows excellent decision making looking for the best option, whether feeding the running wings, the trailer coming behind him or finishing himself.

Despite his tremendous passing ability, Sergio is not necessarily a pure pass-first point guard, even if his shooting struggles this season have sometimes driven him that way. He likes to score as much as the next guy. Besides his ability to score while slashing to the basket, he’s not a bad off the dribble shooter at all, even with International three-point range. He shows nice confidence and quick mechanics releasing his jumpers, and can get very hot at times from the perimeter, although he hasn’t done it regularly this season. He also shows a remarkable ability shooting in front of bigger rivals near the basket, managing to stay in the air and release the ball over them.

Sergio is a player that loves the up-tempo pace. He rarely wastes a chance to score two quick and easy points. While this tendency might result (indeed, frequently results) in excessively rushing, he’s learning to control the rhythm of the game better. Still running whenever he thinks it can benefit his team, he’s now more aware of when the team needs to take a break, run down the shot-clock and involve other players in major creating roles. He’s a player who tends to absorb a huge chunk of the offensive game, a troubling issue for a youngster playing pros; but he’s now more comfortable sharing the ball, and more confident making decisions. He keeps taking risks, but shows better timing doing it.

Sergio might sometimes produce the wrong impression, the feeling that he’s out of control, and that he’s not that smart on the court. But he’s a highly intelligent player who only needs to find confidence and his rhythm playing the game in order to be effective. He’s absolutely nuts about basketball, which is easy to tell watching him play. Indeed he’s a guy who loves big games, the decisive moments, and who never hides when the ball burns for other players in clutch situations. He’s a winner who already has an impressive resume for a player so young, having enjoyed starting status in the Euroleague and ACB League with Adecco Estudiantes, being called up to the Spanish National Team, or earning MVP honors in the European Junior Championships while leading Spain to the gold. That’s valuable experience at the most demanding settings of international basketball.

At this point, we’re just starting to scratch the surface on what Sergio can become as a player. He has still a lot of potential left to be fulfilled, showing flaws that he should be able to fix as he matures and keeps working on his game.

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(April 2004, Juan Antonio Hinojo)

He's a point guard of, officially, 6 feet 3 inches tall, although he might actually be an inch shorter. He played for 3 years in the Federación Siglo XXI center; an academy in the mold of the French ones where Tony Parker was brought up. This year he signed with Estudiantes, and he doesn't play with the junior team, where he should be playing according to his age, although he will be playing in the Spanish Junior Championships. He also plays in the EBA team. The EBA is a sort of a fourth division league in Spain, where veteran and young players play. The level is not too good, but for a kid still 18 years old is not bad. Gasol and many other Spanish prospects played there before joining the ACB (Spanish first division) teams. On this EBA team he plays along with other Spanish prospects such as Jan Martín, Josep Mestres and Adrián García.

He's an absolutely spectacular player to watch. He has many of the characteristics of Raul López, handles the ball better than anybody in the ACB, with both hands as well, and he's very flexible and agile. His one advantage over Raul López, who I followed quite a bit when he was Sergio's age: he's much more of a scorer. Just so you have some context, as a Junior player Raul was actually considered a better player than Tony Parker, and along with Juan Carlos Navarro led the Spanish Junior Team to the gold medal in the World Championships and the European Championships. I've read in some places about comparisons being made with Navarro, to me he only resembles him in his fearlessness and pentration ability. Like Navarro he has the willingness to practically create his own shot going 1 on 5. But other then that his technical level is superior to Navarro's, especially his handles and passing ability. He's a pure point: he gets a lot of assists and controls the team around him. Navarro's assists also used to come more from dishing the ball off after or while penetrating, which is not bad at all, he is just not as pure of a point.

Rodríguez has very good shooting mechanics coupled with great quickness, but for whatever reason his shooting percentages are not very high from the perimeter. When he shoots the ball you think he will hit it, simply because of how smooth his form is, but then you see that his percentages are not exactly sharpshooter-esque. Other then that, he's reliable from the mid-range area, and I think he will eventually be a good shooter, like Raul López turned out to be. Physically he's very fast and explosive, like Raul López, but taller and with slightly superior leaping ability.

His physical characteristics, especially his agility, make him an ideal point guard. The combination he possesses of physical tools combined with his unbelievable handles, superior even to Lopez's, along with his enormous repertoire of technical skills to finish in the most difficult of situations, go a long way in confirming that. His penetrations to the basket, ability to change gears in the blink of an eye, and fantastic creativity make a tremendous scorer out of him. His passing game is also on par with the rest of his game: he has good execution and the technical ability to perfect a large array of passes, both from a static position and in transition. I think his court vision is superior to Lopez's (I always use Raul as a comparison to Sergio because of their position on the court and the fact that Lopez is the only Spanish perimeter player in the NBA). Rodríguez is probably the best Spanish passer I've seen at the youth level. I say Spanish because Panchi Barrera, from Uruguay, is the best passer I've seen at this level.

Weaknesses
Sergio suffers a few very significant weaknesses that seriously question his ability to crack into many NBA-team rotations in the short-term future.

Defense has never been one of his virtues, but he has at least made significant strides in the last few years. The competition level he’s facing in the ACB League has forced him to improve his effort: two years ago in the L’Hospitalet Tournament he was defending only with by anticipating, and now you can see the willingness of putting in the effort to do a decent job. Since arriving in the top Spanish league last season, he has showed a nice attitude denying the ball to his matchup, but he has particularly improved defending on the ball. Still, he isn’t a reliable defender in Europe, let alone for NBA standards.

Indeed he will never be a great defender for two main reasons. First, although he will work not to become a serious defensive liability for his team in the future, he doesn’t have a defensive mentality. His efforts are calculated, and he rarely goes beyond the essentials, lacking a bit of aggressiveness. As an example, he very quickly gives up chasing a rival on the fastbreak. Second, he’s not that gifted physically, not enjoying the most exuberant legs. His lateral quickness is average at this point, although it’s currently improving. As is usual with players his age, he suffers getting through screens, and he also isn’t always focused on his defensive work. On the other hand, he reads the passing lanes quite well and is a smart guy who comes away with a few steals on some occasions.

Sergio has also raised serious concerns about his shooting. He has never been very consistent, but he could frequently get streaky with his jumper (let’s remember that he led Spain to the European Junior Championships in 2004 by shooting at a 50% clip). Curiously, he has always felt much more comfortable (and shown better accuracy) shooting off the dribble rather than in static fashion, even when it comes to firing from the three-point line. Anyway, his general inconsistency knocking down his perimeter shots has made him reluctant to try for a bigger role from behind the arc this season. It seems that his improved decision making at some point of the campaign came along with more careful shot selection, indeed probably too careful, resulting in a certain lack of confidence that was feeding his inconsistency.

Still, Sergio has lately caught up in this department, apparently having found his confidence again and his willingness to fire from all over the court. We will likely see him struggling again at some degree sooner or later, though. But these episodes should tend to disappear as he grows as a player. He doesn’t have the most polished mechanics, but they are not terrible either. He likely won’t make a living as a pure shooter from behind the NBA 3-point line, but once his confidence is back and he adds polish in practice, he should be fine.

The third big concern about Sergio is his decision making, his ability to effectively run the team’s offense. He’s a player who takes significantly more risks than your average point guard, while absorbing a huge share of the offensive flow. He also loves the up-tempo playing style, which can eventually increase the turnover figures and make the team lose control of the game. Indeed, Sergio commits too many turnovers while running the point.

Nevertheless, this shouldn’t be considered a big problem for Sergio’s game in the mid term. We’re talking about a smart player who is still adapting to top-level basketball. Indeed he has made noticeable improvements during this season. He’s learning to share the ball better, to be a little bit more patient, letting the game come to him instead of permanently settling for abusing his skills. For Sergio, basketball is so easy that he has problems recognizing when he should stop looking actively for a basket or the definitive pass, and letting his teammates take some decisions instead. This is no junior stage where he’s substantially better than any of his teammates; Estudiantes is a playoff-caliber team in the top European domestic league and features quality players who also want to have a share of the ball. Not to mention what he will face in a NBA team. Sergio needs to involve his teammates in the offensive game beyond dominating in a way that inflates his assists. So it’s good news to see him doing it more actively at this point, and feeling rather comfortable in the process.

However, chances are he will always be a relatively high-turnover producer. His eagerness for playing at a fast pace and looking for assists will cost him in the form of throwing away possessions. But this isn’t necessarily bad for the team. It’s a calculated risk where the reward comes in the form of easy baskets, and probably easier to put in practice in the NBA, with more spaces, better athletes, the defensive three second rule and a different kind of pressure coming from the audience.

Beyond these three areas, there’s not much more to say about him. Perhaps just to mention that he rarely uses his left hand finishing around the basket. And while it’s always a limitation not to use both hands, in Sergio’s case it barely comes back to haunt him. He’s very skilled using his right in different situations, with awesome coordination to use his footwork in different ways while going towards the basket and leave the layup, so he’s not giving more chances to get it blocked than he would using his left.

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(April 2004, Juan Antonio Hinojo)

The main one is his defense. In the L'Hospitalet tournament he didn't defend anything, even showing some pure apathy sometimes. But that didn't stop him from coming up with 7 steals against the Junior Barcelona team. Those were offensive steals, though, the kind that once you get you are guaranteed of scoring two points, and I think that's what motivated him. In Siglo XXI (the youth academy) he did defend at a good level, which leads me to believe that he has the tools to be a good defender, with his good lateral defensive movement and his ability to avoid screens.

As noted above, Rodríguez needs to become a better outside shooter if he is to make it in the NBA. A Spanish ACB fan recently pointed out to me that he almost always puts the ball on the floor before shooting, and I think that's absolutely true: he never really receives and shoots, he always dribbles first. That's both an advantage and a disadvantage: to create your shot off the dribble is much more difficult as it requires a lot more skill, and he has perfected this technique. But there are times when if you have the space, you must square up your shoulders and shoot as quickly as possible. So he might be complicating things more then necessary. But this is a fixable weakness, and I think its cause is closer to an unconscious movement (he's very used to create his own shot) than to a technical defect, because the second kind of shot (the stationary one) is much easier and it's also the more conventional one.
Something that might be holding him back is the fact that he's so far superior to the rest of the Spanish point guards his age, I sometimes think he needs a great rival to motivate him. I've seen Rudy Fernandez in a lot in youth competitions, and because he was always the best shooting guard on the floor he had to force things against some rivals and it wasn't impossible to stop him, or better said, to contain him more or less. But the difference Sergio has is vast, it's just humiliating how easily he beats his rivals, he just does with them whatever he wants. Every rival player looks down after facing him; you can feel that they just want to finish the nightmare of defending him as soon as possible.

Competition
Sergio Rodríguez was one of the recruits of the eventually frustrated project called Siglo XXI, a basketball school promoted by the Spanish Federation and some Spanish regions in the mold of the very successful French INSEP, which allow kids to combine studies and intense basketball practice. A controversial project, some people consider them the best talent developers in the last years (our collaborator Juan Antonio Hinojo among them), while other voices blame them for spoiling talented kids. A number of reasons, including competition with ACB teams to recruit youngsters or disagreements between different public organizations put an end to it. Sergio spent three seasons there, from 2000 to 2003, years for which he always has good words.

Rodríguez signed with Adecco Estudiantes in 2003, spending his first season there playing for the second team in the EBA League (fourth Spanish division), averaging 13.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.6 turnovers in 25 minutes per game. He also had time to shine in the L’Hospitalet Tournament, having the chance to play against Josh Smith and Rajon Rondo’s Oak Hill Academy. He had 15 points and 5 assists there, although his impact on the game went far beyond those stats, being an incredibly creative force in the offense for his team. He also played in the 2004 Hoop Summit as Roko-Leni Ukic’s backup (5 points and 1 assist in 14 minutes), and the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim, leading Spain to third place while averaging 15 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5 assists and 4.4 turnovers. He even made his debut in the ACB League at the end of that season, in the fifth and last game of the Finals, although everything was decided by then. He only played a couple of minutes, but he had time to score a basket in transition.

Sergio’s name started to sound familiar around that time, especially on DraftExpress, but it wasn’t until the European Junior Championships in Zaragoza in the summer of 2004 where he made a huge splash on the basketball scene with an incredible performance that took Spain to an unexpected gold medal. He averaged 19 points, 4.6 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 2.1 steals and 6.3 turnovers, while shooting 50% from the three-point line. Of course, he earned MVP honors for his efforts.

Sergio went from playing in fourth division to splitting minutes with starter Nacho Azofra in the Euroleague during the 2004/05 season. In his debut season in the top league in the world outside the NBA, he averaged 6.4 points, 2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 turnovers. In the domestic ACB League, he settled for 8.5 points, 3.2 assists and 2.1 turnovers. It was a good rookie season, finished in strong fashion, as he was a key factor in his team’s quarterfinal victory over FC Barcelona. Indeed, he earned a spot in the senior Spanish National Team for the 2005 Eurobasket.

Right before that, Sergio played in the U-20 European Championships, although it wasn’t a good experience for him. Arriving a few days before the competition started, he couldn’t mesh with his teammates, and Spain finished a disappointing ninth. Sergio averaged 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 6 turnovers. Things didn’t go better with the vets, as Sergio barely entered the court in the Eurobasket.

The bad streak followed during the beginning of the 2005/06 season in the ACB League, with Sergio showing painful inconsistency and Adecco Estudiantes collapsing with consecutive losses. Sophomore seasons are always difficult for young players who impress in their debut. Expectations are high and they start feeling the pressure. That bad start affected their performance in the ULEB Cup, failing to advance past the regular season, where Sergio only averaged 5.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.1 turnovers in almost 20 minutes per game.

However, somewhere during the season, first the team and then Sergio, they went back to their old selves, sneaking into the ACB playoffs with a very strong final rush. Rodríguez has just finished the regular season, averaging 9.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 3.1 turnovers in 23 minutes per game. In the last 10 games, he improved to 12.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 3.6 turnovers in almost 28 minutes per game, completely taking over the point guard position. He also impressed mightily in the first round of the ACB playoffs.

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(April 2004, Juan Antonio Hinojo)

I saw the game against Oak Hill (Josh Smith's school amongst many many others- the #1 high school in America) and he absolutely held his own. Rajon Rondo scored 55 points, but Sergio was never defending him. He was defending KC Rivers, who was playing as a SG [Rivers scored 22 points on 7/13 from the field, 6/9 for 3's]. Rajon Rondo did defend Sergio, and the Spaniard beat him one on one every time. This game was to me a confirmation of Sergio's status as a young superstar. No one from his team (Estudiantes) was capable of beating his defender one on one. The Americans quick hands were just too tough for them, and they were afraid to dribble. At best, they dribbled a little just to take a couple of steps but never shaking loose of their defender. They never broke the defense to force rotations and create open shots for others. So from the fifth minute of the game, Estudiantes' coach understood that it was impossible for the rest of the players to beat thier defenders with their static offense, and decided that every Estudiantes play should start with Sergio beating his defender (not with the typical pass to a wing player). The result: he had to play an unbelieveable amount of one on one basketball, perhaps 80 times, and he almost always succeeded. To me, just the simple fact of thinking about the mental and physical challenge of having the duty to break and create on every single play is exhausting in itself. The boy played 40 minutes and he did it on almost every possession. From that point (5th minute), Estudiantes held it's own against Oak Hill: Sergio started splitting the defense and passing the ball wonderfully. The passes would sometimes be to a perimeter player, who then had a good amount of space from his defender who was recovering his position from rotating. In these situations it was possible for the Estudiantes players to beat their matchups by attacking the basket when they were unbalanced coming back from the help, so they could force more helps from other players. Sergio wreaked havoc, and could have dished out about 20 assists to the paint players. The problem was: Estudiantes' big men are all under 6-7, and very unpolished, so they got blocked every time they went up because they were trying to pump-fake and just generally shooting with fear. Had his teammates been better, capable of dunking from a static position under the rim if they received the ball alone (like Josh Smith was doing) he would have got 20 or 25 assists, and I'm not exaggerating. Everything Estudiantes did started with him. The few plays that (in order to get some rest) he passed the ball without breaking the defense, ended with a turnover, a block or an airball. Estudianes, with Sergio and Carlos Suárez aside, is a pretty poor team. Somehow they managed to get to halftime down by just 2 points, after actually leading after the first quarter. They were only down by 12 after the third, but ended up losing by 36. For Oak Hill this was their only game in Spain that they actually had to break a sweat to win. Estudiantes with Sergio Rodríguez was the only team that played them to win, not to lose by as few points as possible. The entire game Rodríguez was playing with a huge amount of flair- behind the back passes, using screens to throw split passes between two defenders (ala Ginobili), dribbling between his legs and then taking the ball with the same hand and then behind the back... Rodríguez wanted to prove to Josh Smith, Rajon Rondo and the rest of the fantastic Oak Hill team that he was one of them.

Outlook
In an unexpected move, Sergio declared himself eligible for the 2006 draft. He might be only testing the waters, but there’s a scarcity of point guards this year, and this anyway doesn’t seem to be the strongest draft class around. Sergio himself is impressing with his play as of late, so he might decide to stay in in the end. His buyout is reportedly affordable.

Despite probably not being ready to make the jump to the NBA, he’s such a great talent that there’s no way he could fall out of the first round did he decide to stay. Depending on how strong he finishes the season in the ACB playoffs and/or private workouts, he could finish in the mid-late first round or even sneak into the late lottery. He would need to put on a real show to go higher than that.


Comments
No European player has come into the NBA featuring such an outstanding talent level (physical gifts aside) for a long time. Sergio is a very special player who draws affection, but although sometimes disdain too. Not everybody is happy putting up with bold moves and risky decisions on the court. However, his spectacular style puts fans in the seats. We shouldn’t reduce what Sergio is as a player to a flashy act, though; he’s a great player who should bring wins with him when/if he manages to adapt to the NBA game and fulfill his potential.

Reportedly a very serious kid, it’s not clear whether he might be rushing things a little bit by declaring this year. He has still a lot of work to do, and he’s in an excellent position to keep improving while playing at high level in Estudiantes, a playoff-caliber team in the ACB League. In a hypothetical NBA scenario, Sergio could suffer having to share the ball with his team’s stars while being asked to get the job done on defense and hitting his open shots regularly.

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(April 2004, Juan Antonio Hinojo)

Well, this is Sergio Rodríguez. A genious of a player, really. I think that if things go as they should and he gets the minutes Navarro or Raul got in the ACB when they were 19 or 20 years old, his future is the NBA. Several coaches consider him him the best junior point guard in Europe. Let's see if he can confirm that at the European Junior Championships this summer. As you can probably tell by now, I love this kid. I'll tell you something: the way he plays is a lot more suited for the NBA then it is for the ACB. He is a great point guard and is very capable of controlling the game. But that ability to play one on one is more characteristic of the American guards. Let's see if he can do it, because he plays a position where there are many American players with similar abilities in regards to his handles and speed. Hopefully his

Facts
2004-2005 ACB Revelation player of the year (Top youth player in Spain).

Headshot courtesy of Euroleague.net

An American Perspective on Europe...the Guards

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
May 16, 2005, 02:49 pm
Thanks to FIBA and their wonderful videos from last year's U-18 tournament in Zargaoza, this is a player that basketball fans all over the world have already fallen in love with, in large part because of his incredible flair for the game. The videos above were against very young competition, though, so it's important to see how well he has made the jump from the junior category to playing with men in one of the most competitive leagues in the world.

Sergio did not disappoint me even one bit, and one of the games I saw was arguably the most impressive game of his young career so far, a 22 point, 7 assist performance against Cibona Zagreb in the Euroleague, so keep that in mind. That doesn't take away from the fact that he is one of the biggest talents in the world in his age group, even when you put him up against American players. I know for a fact that if he was playing NCAA basketball right now, he would easily be one of the most popular players in the world. He is just that much fun to watch. The player I would compare him to in the NBA right now in terms of his intelligence and elegance with the ball would be Sebastian Telfair, although Rodriguez has about 3 inches on him and a slightly more developed outside shot. Like Telfair, Sergio has incredible court vision and an uncanny knack for effortlessly putting the ball in his teammates' hands in a perfect position to score. He is just as good at making the simple and efficient bounce pass off the dribble as he is at throwing a full court bomb right into his receiver's hands in the end-zone or throwing a rocket no-look pass to a cutting man from a standstill position for an easy lay-up.

He is quick and is almost impossible to keep out of the lane at this level, thanks to his smarts and terrific ball-handling skills. One of the games I have here is his matchup from last year with Rajon Rondo, Josh Smith and Oak Hill Academy from a youth tournament in Spain (we've talked about this game on DraftExpress). He was clearly the only player on the floor there with enough class and skill to match up with the types of athletes Oak Hill had, and Sergio really did an amazing job at single-handedly keeping his team in the game. Very often he would be surrounded by three players at the same time trying to get the ball out of his hands, but Sergio would weave his way out of trouble almost every time with a series of incredible ball-handling moves with both hands (behind the back, between the legs, all in the blink of an eye) that appeared to be straight out of one of the Matrix fight scenes.

The best part about this kid is that he seems to be maintaining a great attitude despite everything that is coming his way. He has already announced that he will be returning for another season in Spain, which shows that he wants to be a great player in his country first before leaving for the NBA. That's probably a good decision, because he still has some holes in his game that need to be fixed. His outside shooting for one is okay at this point, but could still stand to improve if he wants to really be a great NBA player like a Steve Nash for example, who he also resembles. He has gone 19/58 (33%) from outside in 32 games so far this season in Spain, and 7/22 (32%) in 14 Euroleague games.

Although you can clearly see that he has begun to address this issue already in the difference between the way he looked last year and the way he looks this this year, continuing to add strength to his frame will help him finish stronger at the basket and will help him out immensely on the defensive end, where he struggles right now. The turnovers are always something that are going to go hand in hand with his style of play, but he needs to become better and smarter in terms of decision making with the ball in his hands, especially in half-court sets. These are correctable flaws, though, and should disappear with age and experience. He is, in my mind, the most exciting prospect to come out of Europe in quite some time, and he's going to make a huge splash on this side of the ocean when he does indeed make it over. Unlike many 2 point, 1 rebound Euro-Shaq's, Sergio is starting and producing for a playoff caliber team in the strongest domestic league outside of the NBA. What's scary is that he's only 18 years old right now.

2005 Spanish King's Cup

Luis Fernández
Luis Fernández
Feb 23, 2005, 01:40 am
The Spanish playmaker delivered a pretty accurate representation of what he has been showing this season so far. His first minutes coming off the bench were pretty awful for him, committing turnovers, not taking control of the game's tempo, making some defensive mistakes and in general not succeeding in the task of directing his team.

A little bit later into the game, though, the waters settled down, and he delivered quite a decent performance, with highs and lows of course, not being really consistent, but showing his credentials as a promising basketball player. He attacked the rim, getting two consecutive flashy lay-ups in traffic, and dishing the ball off or getting to the line after being fouled. He also distributed from the perimeter, delivering some nice passes to his teammates. He tried to speed up the tempo of the game in transition, while not always being successful, and used his perimeter shot as well, netting one open three pointer, but missing a forced one off the dribble.

The taste he left has to be sweet, as the talent level he displays is hard to match. But at the same time, everybody who watched should have noticed that the kid is far from being ready right now.

Sergio Rodríguez, All or Nothing

Luis Fernández
Luis Fernández
Jan 20, 2005, 01:20 pm
Yesterday, we once again saw the true face of Sergio Rodríguez, the same unpredictable point guard that drove defenses crazy in the European Junior Championships last summer in Zaragoza, and one of the brightest pure basketball talents in all of Europe.

For his team, Adecco Estudiantes, this game was a matter of life or death. The team practically needed to win every one of their four games left until the end of the qualifying round in order to advance to the next stage of the Euroleague competition, starting with today's match against Cibona Zagreb. Unfortunately for them (or so they thought), their starting point guard, Nacho Azofra, was due to miss his first game in a long time.

Into this tense situation enters Sergio Rodríguez, with all the responsibilities of the playmaking role resting in his hands, and only the inconsistent combo guard Andrs Miso to give him some rest from time to time.

You can bet that he didn't disappoint. In fact, he was more focused and confident than ever. He shot the ball very well, drove to the basket at will, successfully played the transition game, assisted, took advantage of pick and roll situations, and generally took the steering wheel for his team for a big part of the game. He finished with 22 points (7/11 from the field, netting all 3 treys he shot), 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and also 4 turnovers in 31 minutes of playing time. The 9 minutes he spent on the bench were fatal for Estudiantes, especially those in the second half, cutting the momentum of the game, and finally resulting in a defeat for the Spanish team, with some questionable calls made by the refs included.

Two important circumstances came into play in this great game for Sergio. First, the confidence he felt being the only point guard of the team. Second and most importantly, related with the previous one, the possibility of being the catalyst for virtually all of his team's offense. The first gave him the peace of mind to start off the game well, losing few balls and succeeding in various offensive situations. The second resulted in his most brilliant sequences of the game.

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There is no longer any doubt about it: Sergio needs the ball in his hands to really be effective, and he needs it all the time. He was the starting and ending point of anything the Spanish Junior Team did last summer, assuming an incredible share of the offensive responsibility, as as we shared with you here at . His brightest performance in senior competition had taken part in a game against F.C.Barcelona early on in the season, when his team relied on him completely to come back from a difficult situation in the fourth quarter, to the point that no one knew what to do with the ball if the play wasn't being run by Sergio.

In yesterday's game, with Estudiantes' roster depleted with injuries and foul trouble, Sergio found himself in some stretches of the second half without any of the team's biggest names on the court, even sharing minutes with Carlos Suárez , his buddy at the European Junior Championships, who managed to score 10 points, mostly as a result of passes made by you-know who. It barely needs to be said that those minutes where the most exciting and productive for Sergio.

Of course, it's too much to ask for a Euroleague club like Estudiantes, finalist in last season's ACB League, to give up the keys of the team and total control of its game to an 18 year-old kid. Indeed, the club in general, and his coach Pepu Hernández in particular, have shown amazing faith in him, basically splitting the point guard minutes between Nacho Azofra and Sergio, and never backing down even if he was showing notorious inconsistency.

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So this raises some interesting questions for the future. Will Sergio ever be able to be effective while playing a smaller role? If the answer is yes, how long it will take him? On the other hand, will he ever find a situation or team with the same kind of confidence Estudiantes has in him?

These are not small issues. I'm guessing that sooner or later he will take full control over Estudiantes and their offense. The team will at least continue to give him consistent playing time in the future. But what will happen if/when he tries the NBA adventure? Especially worrying might be the situation if he goes there too soon. Will any team be patient enough to give big minutes to a Euro kid who absorbs so much of the offensive game and is an average defender at best? Other players, at least, can be rather productive in small periods of time, while not necessarily being the spotlight of the team. For Sergio it seems to be all or nothing.

I guess a lot will depend on the situation he'll find there. For countless players, success is only a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Sergio could be one of them. But also, the degree of maturity he develops before going to the States could make all the difference. It's not the same thing to arrive to the League as an unproven teenager and to get there as a solid young veteran star with the experience and knowledge to adapt to different situations. Not to mention the respect he'd have to earn from his coach and teammates, something that would be much easier as an incoming European star that has already earned his stripes.

So I find myself wondering if we aren't rushing too much on Sergio Rodríguez here. I hope he'll be smart enough to know when it's the time to try the next level.

Sergio Rodrí­guez: The Spanish Magician

Luis Fernández
Luis Fernández
Jul 23, 2004, 01:00 am
This year's European Junior Championship in Zaragoza was perhaps not the best or most thrilling tournament in the history of this competition, but nobody will soon forget the six feet, three inches of pure talent who answers to the name of Sergio Rodríguez. Rodríguez (who was first introduced to .com readers over three months ago by Juan Antonio Hinojo) amazed the lucky crowds with his flashy game.

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The field was wide open before the competition began, as would-be favourite Turkey was missing its biggest star, Ersan Ilyasova, leaving several teams with a reasonable chance to win it all. It came as quite a surprise, then, that after a so-so preliminary round, the Spanish team rolled over everyone to win the gold medal. Spain's effort was a triumph of team play, as they relied on unselfishness and heart instead of individual athleticism. But the biggest winner of this competition -and the main reason for the Spanish success- was none other than Sergio Rodríguez, who earned well-deserved MVP honours.

This kid is a truly special and tireless creator. He was the brain, the heart, and the lung of the Spanish team. No other player at this tournament came close to reaching the level of influence and importance he had on the offense of his team. Sergio was by far the best passer here, averaging 8.5 assists -3.2 assists more than the next player on the list. I saw many playmakers here taking their opponent off the dribble, forcing rotations, and dishing to the open teammate, but Sergio did it better than anyone else. He is unstoppable when going one-on-one due to his combination of ball handling and quickness. He always manages to find the best option, even in the most difficult situations. He is so in control over everything that one might come to believe he has eyes in the back of his head. But Rodríguez also excels in the area where very few players at Zaragoza did, and where few players do nowadays, period: assisting from the perimeter. It is amazing how he rewards a cutting teammate with a lightning quick pass inside the paint, putting the ball right where it needs to be for the easy basket. It is even more amazing considering that he is not especially tall and so does not have the luxury of seeing the floor over his defender, and yet he still makes perfect passes in a variety of ways.

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When Sergio breaks his man down with the dribble, he is equally adept at creating his own shot when the pass is not there. He does not even need to beat his match-up, just some dribbling, perhaps a crossover, and the defender is unbalanced. That is when he goes for the jumper, executing it very quickly and with excellent mechanics. It is true his shot selection could stand to improve. While he is not a crazy gunner like Jason Williams used to be, there were times during the tournament when he forced shots that were not as open as one would like to see. In spite of that, Sergio shot about 50% both from the field and from behind the arc throughout the tournament to average 19 points per game, which I consider great stat lines, especially next to his 8.5 assists. And just to complete the picture of the impact of his skills, there was no question that every single time the dwindling possession clock threatened the Spanish offense, his teammates would look for him to solve the problem. There were games in which the sheer amount of offensive responsibilities loaded on to Sergio's shoulders left him completely exhausted at the end.

From a fan's standpoint, Sergio is a pleasure to watch. Everything he creates is spectacular. The no-look pass is not the exception but the rule for him; why use your eyes when you can simply feel the game? He is always highly unpredictable. During the final (see videos), he dared to dribble the ball between the legs of an opponent in transition, just to finish with one of his amazing passes. The audience was already going nuts over him, and this play brought the house down. Just to clarify, it is not a matter of being disrespectful or humiliating his rival. It is just fun for him, the manifestation of the immense love that Sergio feels for this game. He enjoys every single second he is on the court. Everybody who knows him thinks he is a very pleasant kid.

Of course, he is not perfect. He committed many turnovers, although not all of them were his fault. He plays at another level of speed and understanding of the game, and sometimes his teammates just cannot keep up. His unpredictable style of play makes a high number of lost possessions almost inevitable. But make no mistake, few of his decisions are poor. It is a high-risk equation, but you can bet it's worthy.

Another issue is how he controls the tempo of the game. He loves to push the ball, and sometimes it looks quite clear that he should instead cool off and play more under control. Take this with a grain of salt, though. Many times during the championships, you could be screaming at him to stop, calm down, but he usually made a fool out of you with his enormous production in transition, even in heavy traffic.

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Perhaps the most serious flaw in his game is his defense. He is not hard to beat at all, but I think it is more a problem of physical underdevelopment than a matter of quickness. He struggles defending on the ball, but he is quite good avoiding his man at the other end to receive the ball. He is not the most dedicated player in the world defensively, but his attitude did not look bad, either.

I suppose everyone who has read this far has concluded that I love this guy, and I really do. He is an artist with the ball, a magician who finds the play where there is none. He reached the peak of his imagination at this tournament.

After making his debut with Estudiantes' first team in Spain in the fifth game of last year's ACB League finals, he was expected to be the third point guard of the team for the next season, although an interesting scenario has been brought up now that the starter has left for Italy. If Estudiantes does not bring in a foreign point guard (and even if they do) he will have the chance to get minutes at the highest level of competition outside the NBA, both in the ACB league (considered the strongest domestic league in Europe) and in the Euroleague (where the top teams from all over Europe congregate every year). His coach, Pepu Hernández (Spanish coach of the year) says that he will not hesitate to play Sergio, even as a starter, IF he earns his minutes.

It will be interesting to check how his game translates to the next level. Will he be able to keep his magical touch? I guess in one way or another, his game will have to evolve into a more orthodox version of his freestyle trademark. We will surely keep you posted.

The burning question: NBA potential? As you can see, he is no seven-footer who will get instant love from the scouts. He will need to continue to prove himself at the next levels of competition to receive a chance in the NBA. His talent is first round material, but it remains to be seen the degree to which he adapts to leagues as strong as the Euroleague and the Spanish ACB. I am sure he will make it, though. He works as hard as any player you will find. He would be playing basketball 24 hours a day if he could. He is that crazy about the game. We have only now just tasted a sweet bit of his winning character. We can only beg for more.

This is Sergio Rodríguez for you, a Spanish magician.


Links:
Sergio Rodriguez scouting report.
Three FIBA Europe videos of Sergio Rodriguez and the Spanish national team (possibly for limited time only).
FIBA Europe interview with the coach of the Spanish Junior national team about Sergio.

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