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Report: Ole Miss' Daeshun Ruffin is ruled out Friday night vs UT-Martin

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•11/18/22
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Ole Miss guard Daeshun Ruffin (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Ole Miss will once again be without star sophomore guard Daeshun Ruffin for the second straight game. He missed the opener against Alcorn State and has yet to suit up through three games as he continues to recover. Now, he’s reportedly OUT again for Friday’s game against UT Martin.

Here was the initial report from college hoops insider Jon Rothstein, who tweeted:

“Ole Miss’ Daeshun Ruffin (knee) is OUT for tonight’s game against UT Martin, per Kermit Davis. Has not played this season. Averaged 12.6 PPG last season.”

Tough news for Ruffin, who was the starting point guard last year as a 5-foot-9 true freshman. He was actually second on the team in scoring and first in assists per-game at 12.6 and 3.4 per contest, respectively. However, injuries marred most of his freshman campaign and he’s still recovering to start this season. Ruffin only appeared in 14 total games in 2021-22, and played very well in them, but struggled with a knee injury that ultimately ended his season at the start of February.

That left guys like Matthew Murrell and Tye Fagan to fill in as the team’s primary guards. Expectedly, the Rebels struggled mightily in SEC play, finishing 4-14 and 13th out of 14 in the league, only ahead of lowly Georgia. So, in review: Ole Miss desperately needs its point guard on the court. And he simply hasn’t been to open the season. And with the injury issues he had last year, anymore missed games (such as this) has to be concerning for Davis and Rebel fans.

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However, with a year of playing with and without Ruffin, Murrell and Fagan are more prepared to shoulder the the guard spot on their own. After all, they did wind up being two of Ole Miss’ top five scorers last season, combining to average nearly 20 points, with Murrell actually finishing as the leader on the team in total points. And that’s what he’s been again this year, except averaging even more points at 18.3 per night through three games.

Rebels ought to be fine without Ruffin. But at some point it’d be nice to see the talented youngster back out there.