Ole Miss Guard Daeshun Ruffin Out for Remainder of Season
OXFORD, Miss. — (From wire reports) Ole Miss guard Daeshun Ruffin, who was injured in Tuesday night’s win over LSU in Baton Rouge, is out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury, according to a statement from Ole Miss Men’s Basketball.
“Daeshun was just hitting his stride and was establishing himself as one of the best point guards in the SEC,” said Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis.
“I feel badly for Daeshun, but I know he will attack rehab with a great maturity and will return stronger than ever next season. Our team has been very resilient all season long, and we expect no difference against a really good Florida team on Saturday.“
Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis
At the time of his injury, Ruffin — who was leading all scorers with 19 points — had to be helped off the court. It appeared as if his right knee buckled and he landed awkwardly after his shot.
The Rebel freshman drew a foul on the play but was unable to shoot his free throws.
Ruffin has been electric since returning to the team following an eight-game absence due to a broken right hand suffered in the season opener against New Orleans on Nov. 9.
On the season, Ruffin averaged a team-high 2.3 steals per game and led the Rebels with a 52-of-69 (.754) clip from the charity stripe, to go along with 12.6 points, 3.4 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game.
In SEC season he’s been just as impressive against some of the best teams in the nation, ranking second in the conference in SEC-only action in steals (2.7/game), ninth in free throw shooting (.833) and 10th in assists (3.9/game). Furthermore, his five steals at No. 18 Tennessee on Jan. 5 ranks tied for the second-most in an SEC game this season.
He was particularly effective for the Rebels stepping up for the injured Jarkel Joiner, averaging 12.5 points, 3.8 assists, 2.5 steals and shooting 36 percent overall and 77.8 percent from the free throw line in Joiner’s absence since Dec. 21.
Most recently, Ruffin was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday (Jan. 31) – the first such honor by a Rebel since Jarvis Summers on Dec. 5, 2011.
His honor came courtesy of an excellent three-game stretch from Jan. 24-29, during which he averaged 16.0 points, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals with a 19-of-24 (.792) mark from the free throw line – at one point hitting 14 in a row during those three games. Included in there is a career-high 21 points vs. Florida on Jan. 24, with 15 of those points coming in the second half. In just 14 career games played, Ruffin has scored in double-digits in 10, scored 15 or more in six contests, and has had multiple steals in nine games.
Our prayers go out to Daeshun for a complete recovery.
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
