MOBILE, Alabama - If you are interested in having a sustained conversation with South Alabama interim head coach Jeff Price, there's one subject he'll be happy to discuss as long as you are willing to listen.
South Alabama forward Augustine Rubit (21) shoots over Arkansas State guard Raeford Worsham (35) during the first half of a Sun Belt Conference college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012, at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala. (Mike Kittrell/mkittrell@al.com)
And Price isn't the only one talking about the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. Former Troy coach Don Maestri spoke glowingly of Rubit's talents and his impact on games. The same is true of other coaches around the league and those who study the league. Yahoo.com's Pat Forde listed him as an "under the radar'' player recently, but he was speaking in national terms. At South Alabama, the Sun Belt and with each of the Jaguars' opponents the past three seasons, Rubit sets the radar. When the Jags are on the floor, all attention turns to the 6-foot-6, 235-pound junior from Houston, Texas, whose all-around game has stirred many a conversation.
It's a certainty his name has been mentioned at Tulane film sessions and practices the past couple of days. Tulane is the next team that must deal with Rubit; the teams meet in a first-round game of the CollegeInsider.com basketball tournament on the Tulane campus Wednesday at 7 p.m.
It will mark the first time in five years South Alabama has played in a postseason tournament, thus it will be Rubit's first postseason experience at the college level. And that's something to talk about.
"When you look at his stats and what he's able to do every game it's amazing because you know that he's the target of everybody we play,'' Price said. "He has to be. And for him to be that target and still produce like he does, again, not only says a lot about him and his work ethic, but says a lot about the rest of our guys too because they continue to pound it in to him and find ways to get him the ball because they have confidence in him. He answers the challenge every game.
"When I first saw him, I saw a guy that loved to be in the gym first and foremost and had a great work ethic . He just had a knack for scoring the ball. When I first got here I heard a lot about Augustine Rubit but had not heard a lot about his game and the first thing that I saw was his knack for scoring the ball and the nose he had for the ball when it came off the glass, a tremendous rebounder. I thought there were a lot of aspects to his game that he could get better at and one was his footwork, his ability to face the basket and his motor to run the floor on a consistent basis. Those are things we talked about a lot. To his credit, I think he really locked in on those things and really improved.''
The Sun Belt's Freshman of the Year in 2011, Rubit was a first-team All-Sun Belt pick last year and of course this year as well. He leads the led the league in rebounding this season, grabbing 10.7 boards an outing, and he was second in the league in scoring, providing 19.0 points a game. Those numbers gain more steam when one recognizes that he almost always faces a double-team on offense, sometimes a triple-team in an effort to limit his effectiveness. Yet he still produced 16 double-doubles and against Louisiana-Lafayette he scored a career-high 34 points.
"It's been tough,'' Rubit said of the double-teams and especially the defenders who hang on him while trying to defend against him. "Teams have been preparing and finding ways to stop me, but I feel like I improved so much in the offseason it's still hard for them to take me out of my game. Everybody else is stepping up so it gives me opportunities to get one-on-one every now and then.
South Alabama forward Augustine Rubit (21) shoots over North Texas forward Tony Mitchell (13) in the first half of a Sun Belt Conference college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala. (Mike Kittrell/mkittrell@al.com)
"I like that role (of target) because I feel like as long as I play my game and play with energy, I'll still do my part. Being that I'm being doubled, I can find guards and other people that are open, so if that's what they want to do it benefits us too. I think I learned that I know I'm going to get the ball. Last year there were some times that I didn't get the ball, so when I did get it, I shot it. Now the team believes in me and I believe in them. So if they get it to me I'll try to score and if not, I'll find them wide open.''
All that attention sometimes becomes a bit much though, even for the usually even-tempered Rubit, who has handled the close defense better than most. Still, he has his moments.
"Sometimes I talk to the ref. It's crazy sometimes,'' Rubit said. "I know sometimes there is contact that would be considered a foul, but you let it go and I understand that's the game; it's physical. The only time I feel it's wrong is when it's unnecessarily rough out there. When it's like football - unnecessary roughness.''
When two of South Alabama's guards weren't available - Xavier Roberson did not return to the team after Christmas break because of a legal issue in Texas, Freddie Goldstein broke his collarbone but is expected to be available Wednesday for the first time in more than six weeks - it placed more pressure on Rubit to produce. He did.
"I think being patient and my decision-making - only shooting when I'm open and not forcing shots; driving to the basket and making quicker moves and passing better,'' he said of the areas he felt he has improved on this season. "I think that's probably my biggest improvement is passing to the open guy.
"This season has been big. I've learned a lot and I improved each year on things that I have struggled with and I feel like I have become a better leader, off the court too, not just on the court. I believe in my team and that we can all come together and get this done. I feel like things are going to be the same (after winning Player of the Year). The good thing about my teammates is they are happy for me and they feel like we can get this done. This award means a lot to them too.''
Teammate Mychal Ammons said Rubit is their target too.
"Aug is a big part of the team because he draws so much attention,'' Ammons said. "He can do so many more things. He can go inside and he's learned how to go outside now. He makes plays. He can play down low or wherever. He's a key player for this team and we need him.''
If one needed to be convinced more, well, Price has a few other things he could add to the conversation, and is happy to do so.
"I just think that our guys have so much confidence in him and they feel that we have a true go-to guy that they know can get it done,'' he said of Rubit. "The thing about Aug is he comes to work in practice every day. He doesn't take days off. Anytime your best player and your top producer comes to work every day in practice and takes care of all of their business off the court, they immediately gain that much more respect and make your team so much better. That's why he's so valuable is because he not only does the things you see him do on the court, he does the things you don't see him do off the court at practice every day.''