Alex Ruoff

Although his shot wasn’t falling at the same rate it normally does, Alex Ruoff regardless had a pretty strong showing at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, putting his versatility as a 6-6 guard on full display.

Ruoff has excellent size for the guard position, being capable of playing any of the three perimeter positions at 6-6. He actually came in at 6-8 in shoes according to the official measurements, but that might be a little questionable based on what we’ve seen in years past. Regardless of how big he actually is, Ruoff spent a great deal of time at the point guard spot for West Virginia, and he showed the ball-handling skills, smarts and court vision to do a solid job there, even if he’s obviously not a natural playmaker.

Offensively, Ruoff relies very heavily on his jump-shot as his main source of production—61% of his field goal attempts came from beyond the arc this season, and 68% last year. He has excellent shooting mechanics and is capable of making shots both with his feet set and off the dribble, although his percentages are not what you would call outstanding, at 37%. Part of that probably has to do with his team’s slow pace and the amount of offensive responsibilities he was forced to shoulder, combined with his inability to create his own shot against the elite defenders of the Big East.

Sporting a mediocre first step by NBA standards, combined with a poor wingspan and below average explosiveness around the basket, Ruoff is not what you could call a prolific slasher. He is very crafty in his ability to maximize the athletic ability at the college level, showing nice footwork, solid ball-handling skills with either hand, excellent touch finishing off the glass, and great savvy in terms of drawing fouls. Still, it’s questionable whether these skills would translate to an NBA level. At Portsmouth he did show very good ability to operate out of the quick actions of the flex offense his team ran, making quick, aggressive moves towards the basket coming off screens from 15-17 feet, which helped compensate for his just-average first step.

Defensively, Ruoff lacks great length (he measured a 6-7 wingspan) and lateral quickness, which was exposed when trying to defend some of the more athletic wing players he was matched up with at times in the Big East, but he’s more than capable of compensating for that with his excellent blend of smarts and fundamentals. Ruoff really competes on this end of the floor, which is not surprising considering the coach he plays for. He has excellent size and puts a great effort in, is always talking to his teammates, and shows nice anticipation skills in the passing lanes as well.

Ruoff doesn’t appear to be on many NBA teams’ radar screens right now as an immediate draft prospect, but he’ll surely get some looks in the form of private workouts and a summer league invite, where he can further try to plead his case. He’s a unique and very versatile all-around player with his size and excellent skill-level, but may lack a degree of athleticism to convince teams that he can make the transition to playing in the NBA. If things don’t work out for him, he’ll surely make a very good living in Europe, where his basketball IQ and fundamentals will probably be better appreciated.