Daeshun Ruffin just trying to 'overcome' latest injury setback after returning to the court
When Daeshun Ruffin returned to the court in Ole Miss’ exhibition against West Georgia last month it was the culmination of a nine-month journey back from a major injury.
Then suddenly Ruffin found himself back at the bottom of the hill having start the journey all over again.
The sophomore point guard has just recovered from an ACL injury suffered back on Feb. 1 only to find out he was going to have to recover from a bone bruise.
Ruffin’s latest injury was a setback that saw him miss the first eight games of the season but then made his debut last Saturday during Ole Miss’ game at Memphis.
“Just trying to overcome it and try to get back to 100 percent,” Ruffin said when talking to the media on Friday. “Not really there yet but still looking forward to getting back out there and being excited.”
Against Memphis Ruffin finished with six points and a rebound in 14 minutes of work.
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The stat line was not jump-off-the-page level numbers but that was not the goal in Ruffin’s first live action of the season.
Knocking the rust off and getting Ruffin back into game shap was the goal. Though doing so against live action, in an actual game, is a tough ask for a player who has not played competitively for the last 10 months.
When Ruffin played last Saturday it was after one full practice once being cleared. One practice before being asked to jump into a game being played at a high level in a hostile road environment.
A tough ask for Ruffin but that is the only option now with the season more than a month old.
“That’s a tough environment for not playing, practicing much at all,” Davis said. “So we kind of threw him right in the fire. …We’ve had some good, physical practices and he’s been a part of those. It’s been good for him to have three, four days of practice and now he’s got to kind of integrate himself into offense. Not every play’s a home run play.”
The integration of Ruffin back into the offense requires meshing with a couple true freshmen in Amaree Abram and TJ Caldwell.
Abram is getting the starters minutes and beginning to find his footing within the offense.
Against Memphis Ruffin would be the sub for Abram, taking the freshman out and leaving the Jackson native in with junior guard Matthew Murrell.
The possibility of having Ruffin and Abram on the court together is still a possibility but something Davis wants to continue to evaluate, weighing all the pros and cons. One of the causes for concern is creating a smaller lineup and how that would translate to rebounds and defense.
For now Ruffin and Abram are working to get used to each other’s style after not having the offseason and preseason camp to do so on a consistent basis.
“It’s just motivation,” Ruffin said of his conversations with Abram. “Anytime he gets down or makes a mistake I always tell him next play’s speed. Keep your head up. But you know, Amaree, he’s got a good mentality. Not really hard to coach. Not really hard to talk to or get through to. I feel like that will take him a long way in his career.”
Watch Ruffin’s full press conference from Friday below. Video provided by Ole Miss Sports Productions.
