Ruben Dominguez | Scouting Report

I’m Kuzey, I’m 19. I’ve been writing about basketball since I was 9. I have been working in Eurosport Turkey for the last 1,5 years. I have written on various sites and magazines before. I’ve been working as a freelance scout for three years. I worked as a consultant. I have interviewed dozens of prospects such as Theo Maledon, Deni Avdija, Henri Drell, Aleksej Pokusevski, Arturs Kurucs, Yves Pons and dozens of notable basketball people such as Luis Scola, Xavi Pascual, Jonathan Givony, Dimitris Itoudis, Sasa Obradovic, Joan Plaza, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Derrick Williams. I write an article every day. I live in Turkey, I go to all the Euroleague and Youth League games. My main areas are all of the age group on Africa and from U12 to U20 European and NCAA. MY BIGGEST GOAL IS SCOUTING! Anyway, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and feel free to DM!

Physical

Standing 6-foot-6 with a near 6-foot-8 wingspan and improving frame, Ruben Dominguez has good size for a 17 years old European player in my opinion. His arms long and strong but he has a lot of room to get stronger in his other parts. I mean, his core, chest, and shoulders not elite yet. In addition, he has problems (looks his games against France, and Serbia at the 2019 FIBA U16) in the contact game due to these shortcomings. His lower body is quick, strong, he has lateral movement but his vertical pop is not good. His hips are mobile and fast, he can rotate and transfer energy from his lower body to his upper body while shooting, supporting the pure curl in his wrists. On the athletic side, there is a lot to improve. He is a good shooter in transition situations but not a good finisher, runs well but lack of vertical pop hurt him here. He’s not just a smooth or explosive athlete. This applies to both offense and defense. He has a lot of room to improve on that.

Offense

I think Ruben Dominguez’s game mostly revolves around spotting up for the 3-pointer or filling the lanes in finishing situations around the basket. I can say that clearly, Ruben is one of the best shooters in his class. RD is able to create his own shot around the perimeter, using one-step-one and burst techniques to create his own shot with a good hop, release, and rotate. The Spanish prospect doesn’t have a perfect pull up gun but it’s not too bad. He does well as a catch-and-shooter in 3-pointers, but he hasn’t a good hit and volume rate from the hill, right-wing, and right corner areas of the court. He usually shoots and hits a lot from the left side of the court. I think Dominguez has a shooting mentality that many 2003 born players don’t have. He can shoot with a quick release and high set point against pressure, and he does not hesitate to use the right shot at critical moments. RD’s shooting form looks solid with a smooth follow-through, but he needs to quicken his catch and release. Apart from shooting, the biggest weapon in his offensive game is to drive the right channels, get contact and use the rim to find buckets. I think Dominguez needs a lot of things on his athleticism package, but when he can combine his strong arms, his BBIQ in lateral and linear movements, RD can use the rim and find buckets in the traffic around the rim -uses the glass well when driving down the hoop. He’s not very good at driving to his left, and he also tries unnecessary floater/layup at some positions. On the off-ball motion plays, Ruben is not a cutter or somethings but knows how to create his catch-and-shoot spot using the screens very well. He catches the ball, set up his shooting form, and hit. I am a huge fan of his awareness on the offensive end. He sees things early, talks with his teammates, and directs them. Has to learn how to be aggressive slasher despite his aggressive game style. I think lack of elite athlectisim and physical tools hurt his stock here. I think Dominguez is not a great passer but showed some advanced flashes as a read & react and transition passer. By the way, I think RD has a lot of room to be a good scorer in the transition situations. Runs the court well, reads the game well too but not a primary scorer or something in the transitions. Has good footwork, knows the game, has a feel for the game, team player, can operate off-ball motions, and coaching guy. End of the day, his elite shooting threat, responsibility, average ballhandling, high awareness and average finishing skillset (soft-touch, change direction ability, BBIQ, and right dribble) make him a good offensive rotation player for the Euroleague level in my opinion.

Defense

A scrappy, high-motor defender who is energetic on and off the ball, Ruben may not be overwhelmingly versatile, but he showed a lot of good things guarding quicker guards with his lateral movement, BBIQ, and good stance, also, I can say that clearly, RD is one of the best spot up defender in his class. He is not a physical or aggressive defender but thanks to his BBIQ (timing, reading the game, feeling the game, high-motor, reacts) and awareness help him here. I think he knows how to move around the screens and put pressure on the shooter. Dominguez can close the shot angle of his opponent. On the offensive part of the job, he can overcome the pressure with dribbling, as well as on the defense part, he can put pressure against quick, tricky guards. He’s not perfect as a deflection and steals defender, has good eye-hand coordination, but I think he does well in things that don’t usually reflect on the stats sheet. His lack of athlectisim and elite strength hurt his switch, pick-and-roll and off-ball painted area defenses in my opinion. He is active in the passing lanes but lack of athlectisim hurt his stock here. Can’t protect the rim, showed some flashes on pick-and-roll situations thanks to his lateral movement and angled stance but not consistent. I think he is a good team defender, not a playmaker or something but talks with his teammates, protect the team shield with them. As a rebounder, Dominguez has not great or terrible things. He is like a classical European shooting guard rebounder in my opinion.

Summary

I don’t think Ruben Dominguez is a fit prospect for the NBA right now. Yes, he’s definitely an excellent shooter, his game awareness and motor are high, he’s a good micro part on the defensive end, but I don’t think he can keep up with the pace and athleticism of the NBA. I think he has the potential to be a critical rotation player that every team would want at the Euroleague level.