Ruben Dominguez Scouting Report
As one of the best shooters in the world, Dominguez's case for the NBA is quite clear. But shooting alone won't save him. Here's in-depth analysis on why I believe in him being a 10-plus year NBA pro:
Ruben Dominguez (#9, Texas A&M): Sophomore, 6’6”
Shooting Guard — Born: Born: Jan 23, 2003 (23 years old)
Introduction
Okay. Sometimes it’s just taking what’s in front of you. We don’t need to seek flash or make up a bunch of terms to showcase why a prospect will succeed in the NBA. Ruben Dominguez is one of the best shooters in the world, while that might still be an understatement. He’s playing to win the SEC and make a deep push in the NCAA Tournament while putting up historic efficiency numbers, both in outcome (3PT%) and how he’s thriving on a lower usage and ball touches (TOV%).
The advantage of playing in a Spanish youth setup is that it’s all about playing and thriving in a role while mastering the fundamentals. He’s a team-first player. Always have been, because that’s been his only choice growing up in a fundamentals-heavy system. Texas A&M deserves a lot of credit of how they made him comfortable in a very specific role early, enjoying maximized returns very quickly as he’s giving them one of college basketball’s best role players.
NBA teams try to maximize their 3PA, and that makes evaluating Dominguez's potential a no-brainer. This scouting report emphasizes how Dominguez’s shooting gravity, shooting process and insanely good fundamentals help him play a role in the NBA while he’s heading toward a decade-plus career in the world’s best domestic league.
Physical Profile
At 6-foot-6, Dominguez brings excellent positional size to play as a full-time two. He’s built like a rock with a great core and good upper body strength. Listed at 213 pounds, he’s physical and tough. He’s a decent athlete in terms of using his mobility as the advantage, as his game is purely fundamentals-based. He won’t make flashy plays or play above the rim, nor will he stand out with a explosive first step or burst. Instead, his high-end footwork prevails.
Regardless, he has light and quick feet where his broad shoulders make it possible for him to continue to bulk up in the next few years. The core strength is the make-or-break for him, as keeping his balance after handling physicality is the main value in his physical profile, at least what makes it the most functional for him to make the most of his shooting gravity. There is no listing available, but Dominguez should measure out with a +1/+2 inch wingspan.
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Defense
Pick-and-roll
The feel for the game is off the charts. Great defensive instincts more than make up for the lack of burst and speed in Dominguez’s game. The first play shows an example of him reading the ball handler well, and ensuring he takes over and switches to ensure that he stays neutral with his footwork. He doesn’t bite, but simply forces scorers to work for their own angles. That’s led to him using his decent length to contest and block the jumper after forcing the scorer to settle to that finish.
The second play has him defend the angles and space, rather than immediately committing to the ball handler at the elbow. That led to him giving up a tad more space, but trusting his length to contest the shot regardless. Keeping the lanes closed is the main objective when he’s switching after ball screens. However, he has to stay consistently in ‘beat me’ mode. The third play has him bite on the jabs and getting shaked out of balance before the dribble penetration.
On top of that, the screen navigation is decent, but Dominguez shows strength by forcing his way through the ball screen in the fourth play while trying to keep up with the scorer with the tag. That led to a decent shot contest on his end. The fifth possession has him recognizing the scorer’s will to drive into the lane with how he pivoted. Dominguez read that well and dropped his coverage to dodge the screen and relocate to the driving angle to get a good stop around the basket. Defending in ball screen actions will be one of Dominguez’s strengths at the next level.
Closeouts
Dominguez is all about playing the angles the right way. Sure, he’s not in a position to match with the world’s great athletes that play in the NBA. But franchises can be sure of his understanding of the game, limiting angles and driving lanes will help them sustain their defensive rating. Even when he’s switched to bigger opponents, the size and physicality also puts him in a good position. The first play has him concede the three in his face, but the way he’s playing the angles and doesn’t allow the rim pressure while putting a good hand in the shooter’s face tells you that’s a good defensive play regardless. NBA teams will live with players taking off the dribble threes.
The second possession has him getting burned on the closeout. That’s an area of attention as he doesn’t consistently close out at 180 degrees to force the ball handler to decide what to do, whereas he bailed out the scorer with the dribble penetration, getting two feet inside the paint. He’s rotating well on the third play, but again he doesn’t keep it at 180 degrees of the opponent he’s closing out. On top of that, he closes out too far. In motion he gets a bit too reactionary at times, which is his main area of development for the next few years. The feasible part of his defensive translating and him continuing to get stronger is shown in the fourth and fifth play below. He’s defending far beyond the three-point line and uses his physicality to unbalance and absorb contact effectively. The toughness is what NBA scouts value.
Cuts and defending away from the ball
Dominguez. You have to stop committing to the three-point line, my man. It’s taking away a lot of value on your feel and processing of the game. That’s a pity because this is what NBA scouts focus on as they try to see how players adjust to the NBA game with a lot more motion and space to cover. Regardless, he’s processing the game well. The second play shows Dominguez map the floor and see where his teammates are covering. Normally prospect will be reactionary and fall inside the interior as much as possible, but Dominguez saw the defender underneath the basket and knew he had to limit the driving lane and stay around the break and elbow. But the ball-watching has to improve.
The third play has him as the weak-side defender, where the backdoor cut is simply automatic and inevitable if he’s taking his eyes off his assignment. He’s also late with his execution at times. Despite the block in the fourth possession, the ball-watching has led to him losing a bit of ground to the play-finisher that received the dumpoff pass. Overall, I expect Dominguez to struggle adjusting to the NBA in the early stages because of how fast the game goes compared to college ball and the standard in Europe. However, the feel for the game overall makes it inevitable that he’ll eventually improve to help a team sustain their defensive rating.
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Offense
Shooting off the catch
Dominguez shot 41.5% from three as a 21-year-old prior to committing to Texas A&M. For European standards that’s simply elite. He’s continuing with a top-notch 43.3% on over seven attempts per game. High volume and great efficiency is the name of the game when NBA teams try to find a lower-usage piece to fit next to their ball-dominant stars.
