The SWAC just got a whole lot more difficult.
Daeshun Ruffin is back at Jackson State, and after what he did last season, the Tigers’ fifth-year guard enters the new season with plenty of attention — and the conference’s highest preseason honor.
Ruffin was named the SWAC Preseason Player of the Year, adding another accolade to an already impressive résumé.
The Jackson, Mississippi, native was one of the most explosive scorers in college basketball last season, leading the SWAC with 23.3 points per game while shooting 42% from the field, 30% from 3-point range and 84% from the free-throw line.
And he wasn’t just piling up points.
Ruffin also made his presence felt defensively, leading Jackson State with 1.6 steals per game.
His ability to take over games was perhaps the biggest reason he became one of the most dangerous players in the conference.
In 28 games last season, Ruffin scored at least 20 points 11 times. Eight of those performances came with 30 or more points.
View this post on Instagram
That kind of production made Ruffin one of the nation’s top returning players and a natural choice for the SWAC’s preseason player of the year award.
Now he returns to a Jackson State team that knows exactly what it has in its backcourt.
Ruffin’s return gives the Tigers a proven scorer capable of changing a game in a matter of minutes. He can attack the basket, knock down shots from the perimeter and create opportunities at the free-throw line.
The biggest question heading into the season isn’t whether Ruffin can score.
He already proved that.
It’s whether opposing defenses can find a way to slow him down.
With another year of experience behind him and the preseason player of the year honor now attached to his name, Ruffin enters the season with expectations at an even higher level.
He has already established himself as one of the SWAC’s premier players.
Now, he gets another opportunity to turn individual dominance into team success.
