Rebels host Tulsa, red-hot Ruffin

Steve Carp

Friday, Jan. 15, 1999 | 10:44 a.m.

They should just give Michael Ruffin a permanent trophy and let the rest of the WAC Mountain Division scrounge for the scraps.

Tulsa's star senior forward already has earned Player of the Week honors three times and it's only mid-January. If UNLV allows the 6-foot-8 Ruffin to dominate Saturday when the two teams meet at the Thomas & Mack Center, you'll see his name appear in Monday's release from the conference office as a four-time winner.

The lone player in Tulsa history to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds, Ruffin is priming himself to be a lottery pick in the 1999 NBA draft. His physical presence combined with his basketball skills and an unflinching work ethic make him a prized commodity for the pros.

The Golden Hurricane, off to a 2-1 start in the Mountain Division after losing at Air Force 65-57 Thursday night, brings a 14-4 overall slate into Saturday's game with the Rebels. And Ruffin, who is averaging 12.4 points and 10.5 rebounds, is a big part of the team's early success.

But it's not just Ruffin's ability to score and rebound that makes him so good. He also is Tulsa's defensive stopper. Last Sunday, he put the clamps on Ugo Udezue, Wyoming's leading scorer, holding him to just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting.

"That's big when you can do that to the other team's best player," coach Bill Self said.

UNLV fans may remember Ruffin from two years ago when the Rebels faced Tulsa in the second round of the 1997 WAC tournament. Ruffin was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, had seven rebounds, blocked four shots and had 18 points to knock the Rebels out of the tourney on their home floor, 68-65.

Since then, he has done nothing but get better. Self, who had worked at Kansas and Oklahoma State, calls Ruffin one of the best players he has coached.

"He loves playing the game," Self said. "Defensively, he is tenacious the way he rebounds and blcoks shots. Offensively, he's selfish to a fault. He can score a lot more but he doesn't think it's a big deal. I have to get on him to shoot more."

Along with TCU's Lee Nailon, New Mexico's Kenny Thomas, Utah's Andre Miller and Fresno State's Courtney Alexander, Ruffin is a solid WAC Player of the Year candidate.