Javon Ruffin: Creating his own spotlight

BGSU senior guard Javon Ruffin has spent his life around basketball. Growing up with a father who played in the NBA, Javon Ruffin now works to pave his own path with the Falcons.

The senior guard has a knowledge of the game that few players his age possess. His father, Michael Ruffin, played Division I basketball at the University of Tulsa, nine seasons in the NBA and four seasons in the Spanish league at different levels.

Growing up, basketball wasn't just a game for Javon Ruffin, but a way of life with such a basketball-centered family.

"As a two-or three-year-old, I was on a basketball court with NBA players just running around, messing around, just trying to make shots. As I got older, I was able to watch him play a little bit, and I was able to watch him coach with the Pelicans and be able to go to some of those practices," Javon Ruffin stated.

Growing up around the game helped Javon Ruffin to get into the gym from a young age and put in the extra work to be like his father.

"Really, it all came from my dad. Growing up, I grew up in the gym. I just always wanted to be like him, following him around. Probably since third grade, me and him started going to the gym. We probably went to the gym every morning from third grade until I graduated high school," Javon Ruffin said.

Even with all that knowledge, Javon Ruffin uses every opportunity to further his game and continue to get better.

"Everything is a learning opportunity, a good game, bad game, average game; everything is another opportunity to learn and get better," Javon Ruffin stated.

That constant learning in the game has helped him to keep his head throughout the highs and the lows of the season, which is something that the coaching staff has taken strong notice of.

"He is very professional in his routine, his work ethic, his studying of the game, scouting reports and playbooks. So, he is putting the time in to put himself in the best situation to have success, so you kind of see that professionalism kind of come through, and I think a lot of that comes from being around the game for so long," head coach Todd Simon said.

"He is just always composed, never too high, never too low. He has a great feel for who to be in the moment," Assistant Coach Louawls Nairn Jr. said. "When things aren't going well, he is the same. When things are going great, he is the same."

"He brings it every day. I've been really happy with his work ethic, and he seems to really care," assistant coach Anthony Stacey stated.

That mentality Javon Ruffin brings to the team rubs off on his teammates and helps the team bring in a new mentality.

"Ruffin's been around a little bit, and understands your basketball career doesn't last forever, you better take advantage of it when you get an opportunity, and I think a lot of these guys realize it," Stacey said. "You get to a place that you feel comfortable, like BG can really change a player and bring out the best in a player."

"He knows when to turn it on and off, when it's time to have fun and when it's time to dive into work. With seniors that behave that way, that's the behavior that the younger guys are going to model," Simon said. "They see this is how an experienced player behaves. If we can do that, we'll have the same type of success, and I expect him to have a big year because of it."

Even though some people may say the last name Ruffin and think of his father, the work that Javon Ruffin has put into his craft has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.

"Nobody gave him a scholarship because his dad played in the NBA; he obviously earned it. He played in Colorado, and now he's here, and he's had a huge impact on us that we're just very fortunate to coach him," Stacey said.

"Javon's his own man, and he's set to blaze his own trail, and this will always be a part of his story and part of how he got there," Simon said.

Ruffin doesn't put extra pressure on himself to play up to his father's name; he just goes out there to play up and make a path of his own.

"I don't feel like it added a ton of pressure to me because I'm going to go out and do the best that I can and stay true to what I can do no matter what," Javon Ruffin said.

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