By Ole Miss (9-13 straight up, 6-14-2 against the spread) point guard Daeshun Ruffin announced Tuesday night that he’s stepping away from the team for personal reasons.
The announcement came before the Rebels lost their fourth straight game last night to Kentucky. They had lost 82-60 at Oklahoma State this past Saturday with Ruffin sitting out.
The 5-foot-9 guard out of Jackson Callaway High School arrived in Oxford as the program’s second-highest rated recruit ever. The four-star PG was the top player in the state of Mississippi, the nation’s eighth-best point guard and No. 52 overall player in the 2021 class, according to 247Sports.
In 14 games as a true freshman last season, Ruffin started 10 times and averaged 25.9 minutes per game. He averaged 12.6 points, 3.4 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.5 rebounds per game.
Ruffin was just starting to play his best basketball until tearing his anterior cruciate ligament on Feb. 1 in a win at LSU. He had already produced 19 points, three assists and two steals in only 20 minutes of playing time in the 76-72 victory over the Tigers.
After starting 1-5 in SEC play, Ole Miss improved to 3-1 in its last four games with the win in Baton Rouge. On Jan. 24, Ruffin scored 21 points, dished out six assists and recorded four steals in a 70-54 home win over Florida.
Then on Jan. 29, Ruffin had 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot in a 67-56 home win over Kansas St.
Ruffin has started only twice in 11 games played this year. He’s logged 18.3 minutes per game, averaging 9.5 points, 3.2 assists, 1.1 rebounds and 0.6 steals per game. Ruffin has made only 36.7 percent of his field-goal attempts.
Ole Miss is ranked No. 105 at KenPom. The Rebels will try to snap their four-game losing streak Saturday at Vanderbilt.
