Too bad there’s no recognition for “Most Surprising Player,” because Brewer might win it unanimously. His season, Brewer admits, has shocked him, too.
“Coming off [knee] surgery, I knew I was going to be rusty,” said the third-year guard, who turned 23 on Friday. “But I was surprised. My explosiveness came back. I’m feeling a lot more confident.”
“I definitely know it’s a lot better, more so, a lot of adjustments, I have changed a lot of things, adjust to the offense and get used to my teammates also,” Hollins said. The former UCLA center has just started to tap into his potential talent as he continues to bring non-stop motor to the court.
The Timberwolves hold his rights, and either he’ll play for them or serve as a great trade asset for Minnesota in a year or two.
Let’s say Rubio comes over in 2011-12 and tears it up. Let’s say he actually does play like Jason Kidd, a player to whom he’s been compared lately. Well, Kidd won Rookie of the Year in 1994-95 (sharing the award with Grant Hill). So yeah, that means the West could have three straight Rookies of the Year, all from the 2009 draft.
It’s not likely, and John Wall and Evan Turner will have some say in this next season, but it’s certainly possible. Rubio is the lead guard for what might be the best team in the world outside the NBA and is gaining invaluable experience in how to run an elite team. Think about how well Jennings and Omri Casspi played early this season, and consider that Rubio has had much more of an impact in Europe this season than those two guys did before they came over.