Being the 2010-11 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Year, a 2011-12 First Team All-Sun Belt performer and two-time reigning conference rebounding champion wasn’t good enough for University of South Alabama junior Augustine Rubit – he wanted to get better. So where do you go when you want to get better? Vegas, baby.
This summer Rubit spent two months at the Impact Basketball Camp in Las Vegas, hoping to improve the skills that have already garnered him recognition around the country and have him on pace to set school and conference records.
Thanks to a connection from his AAU team in Houston, Rubit received elite instruction and trained with some of the game’s best including current college players Ryan Kelly of Duke and Kenny Boynton of Florida, future NBA stars like Dion Waiters, the fourth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, and current stars like Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics.
“It’s your basic summer camp where a lot of players that got drafted or are top players in college go during the summer to work on their game,” said Rubit. “It’s the best players and the best trainers. You get to work out from 9-to-5 and you eat right every day. I thought it would help better my game.”
It’s hard to improve on a season that saw Rubit finish second in the conference in scoring (15.2 ppg), top the charts in rebounding (9.2 rpg) and lead the league in double-doubles (12). The year before, he became the school’s second-ever Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and ranked sixth in the nation in rebounding (11.0 rpg) and 25th in double-doubles (14).
Rubit went into the camp a blank slate, not knowing exactly what he would be doing, other than the basics like ball-handling and shooting, but once he got there, he was introduced to methods that would enhance his already-advanced skills and open previously untapped areas.
“They made me work on things like my left hand, things I’ll need to succeed at the next level and different moves to attack your opponent. They told me my game was better in the mid-post; instead of trying to catch it deep on the wing or on the low block, they said the mid-post is where I could dominate more. They taught me things that I didn’t know about my game.”
A typical day started at 9 a.m. where Rubit would begin with shooting drills – 10 at different spots on the court and five three-pointers around the arc – before moving on to individual workouts. There he would shoot with each hand on the low block and go against other players one-on-one while working on different moves. Conditioning elements were added to standard drills, such as repeatedly sprinting to mid-court before shooting jumpers.
Superior conditioning is something head coach Ronnie Arrow felt Rubit needed to improve to not only dominate at the Division I level, but at the professional level as well.
“He learned to run the court much better,” Arrow said. “There was one pro scout who saw us play in Canada who said Aug doesn't need to run the court with the '4s' and '5s', he need to run with the '2s' and '3s'. He's running the court so much better and he's running it with the knowledge of why he's doing it, not just because he thinks he has to get down there quicker.”
After weights sessions every morning, Rubit would shoot again in an open gym early in the afternoon before working out later in the day.
Those intense workouts and individual training sessions helped Rubit improve two areas he and Arrow knew needed improvement: ball-handling and footwork.
“Footwork was one of my biggest problems,” Rubit said. “There were a lot of footwork drills like ladders. Even when you do a move, it’s not just moving the ball when you cross over, it’s footwork too. I worked on a lot of that. Pivoting is all footwork.
“That helped me on defense – my defense is a lot better – and on offense as far as dribbling and working in the post. All the things I usually do are based on footwork so that helped a lot.”
Post players are rarely expected to be especially adept at dribbling or passing, but Rubit had the same amount of turnovers last season as he did as a freshman, despite playing one more game.
“Last year, the biggest thing he needed to work on was turnovers – he had far too many turnovers,” Arrow noted. “I got the feeling that he didn’t feel comfortable facing the hole and putting the ball on the floor. He was slow in movement and decision-making with the ball. When people put pressure on him, he got back on his heels, rather than putting the ball on the floor and making them pay for it.”
"Working at Impact slowed the game down so that should cause fewer turnovers,” Rubit said. “Before, I’d speed up in a game and that would cause turnovers. Now, it’s so slow that I can see everything so hopefully there will be fewer turnovers.”
Most years Rubit would have to wait months to practically apply what he learned at Impact, but in August the program took advantage of an NCAA rule that allows teams to go on foreign exhibitions every four years. The Jaguars traveled to Canada, played three games and got an additional 10 days to practice, enabling Arrow and the team to get a head start on the upcoming season. It didn’t take Rubit long before he saw the results of his work.
“It felt like it was a lot easier. All the work that I did there helped me, so when I got back, I was running the floor easily and finishing with both hands, so now I feel like it’s easy. I haven’t played in any real games yet, but I haven’t felt this way before. I haven’t felt this way since I’ve been in college.”
Arrow also saw an improvement in Rubit’s play during the mid-summer practices.
“He was not a good passer outside; he did not like ‘heat’ put on him outside,” Arrow commented about Rubit’s play his first two seasons. “He is able now to withstand ‘heat.’ He can put the ball on the floor better and make decisions with the ball. He won’t put himself in a situation where he dribbles into a double-team. He’ll have the confidence to get rid of the ball before he gets double- teamed. Now he feels more comfortable. Is he where he needs to be? No, but he’s gotten the confidence he needs.”
That confidence was evident in South Alabama’s three exhibition games, where Rubit averaged a team-best 18.0 points per game, including 21.5 ppg in two starts. Rubit opened the trip with 27 points and 11 rebounds in the opener against Windsor with three steals and a block.
None of those points came from behind the 3-point line, something he hasn’t accomplished in two years as a Jaguar. He put in extensive work on his long-range jumper at Impact and became proficient at it, saying, “I got to the point where I was shooting 70 percent from the NBA 3s because I was getting reps every day and it gets easier.”
But despite the focus on his 3-point jumper, neither Rubit nor Arrow expects Rubit’s game to expand beyond 20 feet.
“I would (shoot it more), but it seems like getting to the basket and the other things I worked on is so easy,” Rubit said. “If I have to I will, or if they leave me open I will, because it’s something I can do, but I worked on my game so much that I don’t think anyone can stop me from getting to the basket.”
“The thing that got him his notoriety, he doesn’t need to get away from,” Arrow commented. “He doesn’t need to get away from banging, pinning and scoring. He doesn’t need to become a 3-point shooter. He needs to incorporate those things into what he can already do. He doesn’t need to run out to the top of the circle to show he can do that stuff. There will be enough plays for him offensively to take his man off the dribble outside. He’s got to know what his bread-and-butter is, but now he’s added something to his arsenal that’s going to make him even tougher to guard.”
So after he applies his knowledge to the upcoming season and works on becoming a national name individually while helping the Jaguars achieve postseason success, what does next summer have in store for Rubit? He wants to go back.
“It will definitely be something I’ll want to do next summer. Since I’ve been there and experienced it, and after I learn something from this season, I’ll bring it back to Impact next year, which will be even better for me.”
Rubit, Arrow and the Jaguars all hope that in this case, what happens in Vegas won't stay in Vegas.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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