Kermit Davis is looking to October 1, when Ole Miss opens practices and could finally be whole

Kermit Davis held his breath and hoped for the best. 

The able-bodied members of Ole Miss basketball were recently playing a friendly, team-building game of wiffle ball at the Ole Miss softball complex. Star second-year point guard Daeshun Ruffin was attempting to beat out a throw to first base.

The problem, of course, is Ruffin — a one-time Top 50 prospect and the first McDonald’s All-American signed by Ole Miss out of high school —  has been on an arduous road to recovery from a significant ACL injury suffered in February.

So, Davis all but turned into Bobby Cox, the legendary former Atlanta Braves manager.

“My guys don’t know how to play first,” Davis said. “They’re not exactly Tim Elko (the all-time Ole Miss baseball great). So, they were standing in front of the bag.

“I said, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re fixin’ to have a collision running to first.’”

Fortunately, there was no such collision. 

Davis made sure of it.

Not so long ago, back in the days when MLB pitchers still hit in the National League, Cox could be heard loud and clear on television broadcasts yelling some variation of “Woah!” over and over whenever one of his Hall of Fame pitchers (John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine) jogged down the first-base line.

Cox was trying to save them from themselves, just as Davis was trying to do with Ruffin. For good reason.

Ruffin, as a true freshman, and before going down, was emerging as the team’s most exciting player in an otherwise forgettable year. He’d averaged 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals in four straight games and was named SEC Freshman of the Week.

Ole Miss lost nine of its last 10 games without him. He also suffered a hand injury.

“I’m feeling good, man,” Ruffin said a few months ago. “Basically, in my rehab, we’re working on my jumping techniques. Kind of past the part where we’re building muscle around the knee and in the quad.

“Just working on jumping, running and getting technique down. Proper technique. It’s going good so far.”

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Ruffin wasn’t allowed any on-floor contact in the summer.

Ole Miss, sans Ruffin, won three games in four days against local teams on its trip to The Bahamas July 31-August 5. The NCAA allows teams to make an international trip every four years. Ole Miss last took one in 2018.

Now, though, he’s getting close, and Davis wasn’t, and isn’t, about to sacrifice arguably the face of the program to wiffle ball of all activities, especially with the Rebels set to open official practices October 1.

Ruffin is on track to be a full participant.

“Daeshun and Matt (Murrell) are two of the elite scorers in our league,” Davis previously told the Ole Miss Spirit. “Both those guys can really, really score. They’ve proven they can score.

“Robert Cowherd may be, behind Matt, our best perimeter shooter.”

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Once Ruffin is cleared, the Rebels, at long last, will finally be whole.

Veteran forward Robert Allen, like Ruffin, was lost to a season-ending ACL injury last season.

Davis said Allen has been “moving great” in his non-contact skill work, which Ole Miss plans to gradually intensify over the next few weeks. He’s been joined by Buffalo transfer forward Josh Mballa, one of eight new players for the Rebels.

Like Allen, Davis said Mballa, one of four transfers signed by Ole Miss in the spring, and his knee sprain have responded well. Cowherd, a true freshman guard recovering from a torn meniscus, has returned to full-contact, too.

The initial expectation was Cowherd and Mballa would both miss at least two months.

“Robert’s probably ahead of Josh a little bit right now,” Davis said.

Ruffin, meanwhile, will continue individual workouts.

He’s expected to be cleared to go with his perimeter skill group any day now.

Most importantly, Davis believes Ole Miss is on course to have all 14 of its players available once official practices open.

“It’s by far our best depth,” Davis said. “We’ve got depth at every spot, great size and really good guard play. We’ve got to make a lot of progress. The Bahamas trip was great for us. We’ve gotten off to a great start in September and worked hard in the strength and conditioning part of it. 

“I really like our team. We’re going to be right in the middle of (the SEC), and I can’t wait to get everybody out there.”