Watch Ricky Rubio Timberwolves Guard Stun Heat with Alley-Oop

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been waiting a long time to see former No. 5 pick Ricky Rubio on the hardwood.

After getting drafted in 2009, Rubio spurned the Timberwolves to play in Spain for two seasons and the team went a combined 32-132 in his wake.

But Rubio is finally in Minnesota, and he's showing glimpses of why the Timberwolves grabbed him at No. 5 overall in 2009.

In the second quarter on Friday against the Miami Heat, Rubio showed the passing skills that made him a prized prospect two years ago.

With the Heat double-teaming him and power forward Kevin Love rolling to the basket, Rubio swung a beautiful alley-oop to forward Anthony Randolph behind the unsuspecting defense. The alley-oop not only showed Rubio's touch with the basketball, it also showed his vision, which is another reason NBA scouts were so high on him when he came out for the draft.

Let's be clear: Rubio can't single-handedly save this Timberwolves team. You don't win 17 games in 2010-2011 because you have one problem area.

But he was averaging 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 26 minutes per game headed into Friday's contest, and that's certainly a step in the right direction for a team that hasn't had much of a threat from the point guard position.

It's still early, but you wonder if Rubio and Love can become a potent duo moving forward. Love averaged 20.2 points and 15.2 rebounds last season and showed the range to be a nice pick-and-pop partner with Rubio in addition to the numerous pick-and-rolls they are sure to pull off.

The future, i.e. Ricky Rubio, appears promising for the Timberwolves.