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On the Valley board there is a discussion about all MVC players next year and no one is mentioning Daniel Ruffin. I was wondering what thoughts you have on this considering I thought Daniel had a great year last year and at the end of the year was very solid. I dont know the point guards on the other MVC teams so maybe there are some great point guards out there but are they better than DR?
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Not sure why anyone would overlook DRuff.
He will have a breakout year in the Valley and will be the best PG hands down. -
I think Ruffin will take on a different role. He'll be asked to score a lot more. He's not going to be the 4th or 5th option anymore.
There are a lot of good point guards in the Valley this upcoming year.1996 & 2019Comment
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Ruffin had a pretty good year last year.
Assists: 177 (1st)
Steals: 53 (5th, Bennett was 2nd and graduated)
A/TO Ratio: 2.01 (2nd to Braeuer w/ 2.11)
FT %: .872 (3rd)
Fouls: 59 (39th)
Discussions of best PG's in the MVC without Ruffin - well, they just haven't done their homework.
Oh, and these are just stats for the Overall season. Someone wants to look at just MVC games, I am sure you will find some pretty glaring facts that point to how good a year Ruffin had.
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I think this is a great point. The only way Daniel wasn't the last scoring option on the floor was if JJ was also there. He is going to take on a differnet role then he had with last years team and I think a lot of this upcoming year's team success will depend on his play. He'll have to carry more of the offensive load and if he doesn't I think we're going to have a lot of struggles.Originally posted by it's boogie timeOnce A Brave ... Always A BraveComment
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I had a nice visit with some relatives form the KC area over the 4th ( their all KU grads) the said that BU's guards were the best they faced all year, and couldn't believe how slow they made KU guards look.Comment
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Right on
BU guards were great.
Should be again this year!Comment
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I wouldn't go that far. He'll be in the top half, for sure, but anyone that watched every game in St. Louis knows that nearly all if not all Valley teams return their starting point guard, and all looked very good in St. Louis.Originally posted by tornado
I think Ruffin could emerge as a league star over the next two years if he graduates on schedule, but to say he'll be the "best PG hands down" next year is a nice thought, but factually highly unlikely.Comment
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Ruffin will be a 4th year PG with more minutes played at the PG position in D-I than anyone else I am aware of in the MVC.
He has led or nearly led the Valley in assists consistently since he played his first season, and although the knock on him was too
many turnovers, he proved he's worked on that too, by leading Valley play in not just assists (5.89 apg, more than 30% above the
next highest assist guy), but also in assist to turnover ratio (2.26, again 30% better than the next best PG who was Will Franklin).
I concede someone else could surprise us and be better, but who would it be?
Many Valley teams will be very thin or extremely inexperienced at PG (Creighton, ISU) and others will have PG's who looked good at times, but faltered severely in the conference part of the season (Drake, Evansville).Comment
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Needs teamate help
I agree that Ruff should be one of the top point guards. However, if he has no one to pass to who can score I think his game and stats will suffer. Remember, he's only 5'9. There's only so much someone that size can do offensively.
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Wow! A RARE Squirrel sighting on this message board (considering there are so many on BU's campus.... btw, welcome to rural Midwest, not just Bradley's campus, but most of any Illinois school outside of Chitown, and I am sure C/U has a ton too as they struggle for a nickname/mascot at Univ Illinois-C/U).Originally posted by squirrel
You mentioned St Louis sightings for great MVC guards and their play. That means the MVC Tourney. Every game right.
Were you aware that Ruffin played with the Flu the whole tourney? Now I don't want to sound like the Duke fans crying about a player this year or a year ago (Duhon was it?) that was playing injured and the media had a love-fest over itself over how he played through the pain.
Ruff's Flu-fest was made public after the MVC tourney and there wasn't much dwelling on it.
So Tree-Dweller, be sure to look into all facets of the situation before you dismiss 'one of your own'.Comment
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How can this opinion be "factually unlikely"?Originally posted by squirrel
It's just an opinion and since DR was by many people's opinion the best PG in the valley this past season, I think the status of being the best is his to lose.Comment
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"Best PG hands down" is not an opinion. Saying a statement in such a definitive fashion is stating it as fact.Originally posted by Fastbreak
And second, outside of a few Bradley fans, no one I talked to would ever concede that DRUff was the best PG this past season.
Certainly he could be in the top 3-5, but I am simply stating that there are no guarantees considering every team returns their point guard for next year. I was impressed with all of them in St. Louis.
Yes I was aware Ruffin played with the flu in St. Louis. My concern for Ruff this year is to simply prevent the team from treading water and graduate on time so in his senior year he can be the best PG in the Valley.
But to place that expectation on him this year when across the board adjustments will be made to the way BU plays, and considering a much larger amount of pressure will be placed on him (especially since some have already dubbed him king PG of the Valley) is a bit silly at this point, is all.
Certainly he will be the leader of the team. And I think playing two drastically different styles between his sophomore and junior seasons could play off enormous dividends if he earns his senior year of eligibility.Comment
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FWIW I think Ruffin might be the most underrated player in the league. I think I would take him over any other PG in the league also.
Someone mentioned in this thread that he will suffer from the departures of last year's team and while this is true, he is still good enough on his own to make heavy contributions.
Ruffin does a couple things, that as a former college coach, I must have in my PG.
1. he is a solid distributor of the ball and team QB
2. he is an excellent FT shooter
I trust him with the ball in crunch time because he usually makes good decisions, is not a big turnover guy, and is a near 90% FT shooter so I know I want the ball in his hands with a late lead.
Ruffin also is a solid/good defender on the ball and can play heavy minutes. Put that all together and I think he's the best true PG in the Valley.
Dotzler is too young and coming off an injury
Mullins can't hit water if he fell out of a boat when it comes to shooting. he also struggles from the FT line, though he is a good passer and a great defensive player.
McKowen is above average
Brauer is the same as McKowen
The rest are either unproven in the Valley (Boo Richardson) or not true PG (Ahearn).
I'd have Ruffin as my All-Valley PG without hesitation. As bad as ISU was a year ago, if we had Ruffin as our PG, I'll bet we would have won 4-5 more games.Dinma Odiakosa 6'8 255......The Nigerian Nightmare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 37 points and 27 boards in 2 wins over Bradley. "Will Egolf is 6'9 and he had 4 rebounds. That's not good enough and he's not good enough"....Dick Versace 2/9/10Comment
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Crunch time
I trust him with the ball in crunch time because he usually makes good decisions, is not a big turnover guy, and is a near 90% FT shooter so I know I want the ball in his hands with a late lead
I think we're all hoping and praying that there will be more than a few "crunch times" this upcoming season.....
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