According to Elias, via Wolves PR, Ricky Rubio's 43 steals over the last 10 games is the most prolific 10-game total by any player since Ron Artest in 2002, and is the fourth-highest total overall in the past 20 NBA seasons. Here's the chart provided by the Wolves: Most Steals in 10 Consecutive Games, Single Season Since 1992-93

# Player, Team From To
-- ------------------- ------------ ------------
46 Kendall Gill, N.J. Mar 30, 1999 Apr 14, 1999
44 Ron Artest, Ind. Jan 19, 2002 Feb 12, 2002
44 John Stockton, Utah Feb 24, 1995 Mar 14, 1995
43 Ricky Rubio, Min. Feb 11, 2013 Mar 6, 2013
Wednesday night against Washington, Rubio had six steals. He has at least three steals in nine of his last 10 games.
Rubio has 79 steals in 33 games this season, an average of 2.39 per game. That would rank him second in the NBA behind Chris Paul if Rubio qualified in terms of games played to be listed among the leaders. I write about Rubio's toughness and hustle in the Friday paper. ------------------------ I caught up with Doug West when in South Texas to write about Royce White. West, the former Timberwolf, is working as an assistant coach for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the D-League team affiliated with the Houston Rockets. How'd he wind up just North of the border? West said he had connections with the Rockets' front office. West was an assistant coach at Villanova. When staff changes loomed, West began looking around. He took a job with IMG Academy in Florida as an instructor, but then the Rockets called. I've talked to a lot of former athletes over the years, and many wind up embittered because life after playing a big-league sport is dissatisfying. West sounded happy to be working on basketball. ``This was a no-brainer," he said. ``It's been very interesting to me. I didn't know what to expect coming in. I didn't know the quality of the players, hadn't watched much of it. I came in in the first week and I've been nothing but impressed throughout the season. ``They're very good players in this league. The travel and the hotels aren't like the NBA but this is a good steppingstone to the next level for me. ``It's not easy getting to McAllen or Hidalgo. Most of our trips, it's an eight-hour day, with four of those hours spent in an airport. Besides that, everything here is great." I asked him for his fondest memories of Minnesota. ``Wow, it's been awhile," he said. ``I thought the best thing was the people. They welcomed me with open arms. People were just friendly. When I first got there, I was taken aback. Coming from Philadelphia, I was used to people yelling at you. It was a great run for me." -------------- My piece on Royce White ran in last Sunday's paper. My lasting impression from my long conversation with him, and after watching him play two games: I think he's a smart, sincere guy, but when I saw him play he was rusty and out of shape. He needs to decide whether he wants to be an excellent NBA player who makes tens of millions and can use his basketball career to publicize and support his good works, or whether he can accomplish his goals without basketball. If he were my son, I'd tell him to build up his career as well as he can and use the fruits of that career to support his good works. His grandfather, Frank, sounded like he's of the same opinion. -------------- My new time slot on 1500ESPN is noon weekdays with Judd&Dubay. Still doing the Sunday show 10-noon with Tom Pelissero. I head to spring training this weekend. My Twitter handle is @Souhanstrib. Thanks for reading.