Brandon Jennings didn’t exactly anoint Ricky Rubio the second coming of Chris Paul, but the point guard did back off his previous comments that said Rubio, widely regarded as the No. 1 point guard in the NBA Draft, was overrated.
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Jennings, who played professionally in Italy last year instead of going to college at Arizona, was at Verizon Center on Tuesday working out for the Wizards — just two days after calling out Rubio following a workout in Sacramento.
“Well, put it like this: If he was in a workout with me [other point-guard prospects] Jonny Flynn, Jrue Holiday, Tywon Lawson, Stephen Curry, he wouldn’t probably be at the top,” Jennings said at the time. “Yeah, I think I’m a better player than he is. I just shoot the ball better than he can. The only thing I’ve seen him do sometimes is when he has a home-run pass or something like that. I think the dude is just all hype. I can’t even front. I’m just going to be real with you guys.”
Though he still thinks he’s the best point guard in the draft, Jennings on Tuesday said he was out of line for his comments.
“The Ricky Rubio situation I think I went a little overboard by calling him all hype,” he said after his workout with the Wizards. “He’s a great player. He has the most experience out of all of us in this draft. He’s been playing pro ball since [he was] 15. So about him being overhyped, that was wrong of me.
“I have much respect for the dude. We did a photo shoot together for Slam Magazine, so I got to know him off the court. He’s a real good guy.”
- Scott Miller
