By Robert Wilson
Daeshun Ruffin – who was a McDonald’s All-American at Callaway High – is coming home.
The 5-foot-9 sophomore point guard announced on Instagram Friday that he is transferring from Ole Miss to Jackson State. He had entered the transfer portal this week.
Ruffin – the 2021 Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year and the first Mississippi Player of the Year to play for Ole Miss in 23 years – announced in a statement in late January that he was stepping away from the team “in hopes of regaining 100 percent mental and physical health.”
Ruffin – a two-time Priority One Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Year – has had one injury after another since he started his promising college career last season.
He had a broken hand and ACL injury and surgery last season, then he suffered a bruised knee and had a sickness to set him back this past season. He responded with 18 points and seven assists against Missouri, but he missed the trip to Oklahoma State after that. Ruffin and Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis met after the team got back to Oxford in late January.
Ruffin averaged 9.5 points – second highest on the team – in 11 games this season. He missed the first seven games of the season and returned in December. He still was not full speed and missed three of the past five games for Ole Miss before leaving the team.
Ruffin averaged 12.6 points – second highest on the team – and 3.4 assists and 2.3 steals in 14 games, 10 starts, last season as a freshman. He scored 19 points and helped Ole Miss upset then No. 25 LSU but left the game with a season-ending knee injury.
Davis, who recruited Ruffin to Ole Miss, resigned before the season was over. Ole Miss hired former Texas coach Chris Beard.
Ruffin hopes to get back to his level of play when he was at Callaway. He will be playing for JSU coach Mo Williams, who was also a McDonald’s All-American at Ruffin’s high school rival, Murrah, two decades ago. Williams went on to be an All-SEC player at Alabama and averaged 13.2 points in 13 years in the NBA. He was an NBA All-Star and one of the best players in Mississippi history to play in the NBA. After retirement, Williams was the head coach at Alabama State for two seasons before replacing Wayne Brent at JSU last season.
JSU finished 14-19 overall and 12-6 in SWAC play last season under Williams.
“Daeshun is a dynamic talent who has yet to show his full potential due to injuries and some other factors out of his control,” said David Sanders, who coached Ruffin at Callaway and is now coaching at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. “When healthy, he is a program changer. Playing for Coach Mo Williams gives him an opportunity to play for a guy who knows and had been where he desired to go. I believe this will be a revelation not only for JSU, but also for HBCU basketball and McDonald’s All-Americans around the country.”
Ruffin averaged 33.1 points, led Callaway to a 10-1 record and the Class 5A quarterfinals as a senior. Ruffin, rated as rated as the No. 1 player in Mississippi and No. 7 point guard in the country, also averaged 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 2.0 assists for Callaway, which won 30 straight games against Mississippi teams until losing a 90-85, double overtime decision at Lake Cormorant in the 5A quarterfinals. He finished with 2,541 career points, second place in the storied tradition of great Callaway scorers, only behind Malik Newman, who scored 3,108 from 2011-15.
Ruffin averaged 26.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.9 steals and led Callaway to a 25-5 record – undefeated against Mississippi teams — and the Class 5A state championship, a No. 1 Mississippi and No. 38 national final ranking by MaxPreps, as a junior.
