Langdon quoted in NYT story (Basketball)
The New York Times published a story today about Spanish 19-year-old basketball stud Ricky Rubio coming of age.
The article quoted Anchorage’s Trajan Langdon, whose Russian team lost to the Rubio-led Barcelona squad in the semifinals of the Euroleague championships.
Langdon, a perennial Euroleague All-Star with CSKA Moscow, talked about a play in which Rubio got caught under the basket yet still had the wherewithal to lob the ball over the backboard to a teammate for an easy basket.
“He knew exactly where to be and how to read the defense,” Langdon told the newspaper. “He does his little tricks, but that’s not what impresses me with him. What impresses me is that he doesn’t get rattled.
“His ability to run a team and understand the game at his age is phenomenal.”
What the story didn’t mention was how another Alaskan, North Pole’s Brad Oleson, helped shut down Rubio during the Spanish League Finals.
Oleson’s Caja Laboral team swept Barcelona in three games, with Rubio limited to just eight assists while turning the ball over seven times.
Oleson bagged 21 points in the series. He also outscored Rubio 10-6 in Game 2 – on Rubio’s home court, no less.
