Daeshun Ruffin will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee during the second half of Ole Miss’s 76-72 victory against LSU last Tuesday.
Ruffin, a freshman, was playing at an extremely high level prior to the injury. Ruffin was averaging 12.6 points, 3.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game. The week before his injury, he had been named the SEC Player of the Week.
Junior guard Jarkel Joiner was Ole Miss’s leading scorer (13.6 points per game) before he suffered a back injury against Texas A&M on Jan. 11. Ruffin was forced to step up as the Rebels’ primary ball-handler and scoring option. He certainly embraced the new role and shined in the spotlight.
“Daeshun was just hitting his stride and was establishing himself as one of the best point guards in the SEC,” Ole Miss Head Coach Kermit Davis said. “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.”
It seems as if Ruffin can’t avoid the injury bug. In the first game of the season against New Orleans, he suffered a broken right hand that forced him to sit out for eight games.
Ruffin attended Callaway High School in Jackson, where he led them to multiple district titles and state championship appearances. He was the first McDonald’s All-American signee in program history, as well as the Rebels’ highest-ranked recruit ever. The four-star prospect was ranked No. 1 in the state of Mississippi and No. 40 in the nation. Saying that this is an enormous loss for Ole Miss’s team is an understatement.
With eight games remaining in the season, it’ll be interesting to see if the Rebels can find a way to be resilient.
