Alexander Marc Ruoff (born August 29, 1986) is a retired American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. In college, he played shooting guard for the

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

Mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbin ...

basketball team. Ruoff set school records for the most 3-pointers made in a game and most career 3-point field goals.

Early life

Ruoff was born in Hamilton, Ohio, and relocated to

Spring Hill, Florida Spring Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hernando County, Florida, United States. The population was 113,568 at the 2020 census, up from 98,621 at the 2010 census. Spring Hill belongs to Florida's Nature Coast region and is in the T ...

in 1999. He attended Central High School in Brooksville, Florida, where he was a four-year varsity player. As a senior, Ruoff averaged 30 points and 12 rebounds before injuring his foot in December. Among other accolades, Ruoff earned all-state honors, Hernando County player of the year, and was nominated as a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

All-American. He holds school records for assists, blocks, and steals, and ties the school record for points in a game. Ruoff was the first Hernando County Boys' basketball player to sign with a division one university. He was the 46th ranked senior in the nation according to hoopmasters.com. Ruoff was considered as "arguably the greatest boys basketball player to ever come out of Central High School".

Collegiate career

Freshman season

As a freshman, Ruoff played in 21 games averaging only four minutes in each game. Ruoff then scored his first collegiate basket against

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. He averaged one point per game and 0.5 rebounds per game.

Sophomore season

After the highly touted senior class, led by Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey, graduated from West Virginia, Ruoff took over at the shooting guard position and started every game. Ruoff scored a season-high (and then career-high) 23 points against

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and 11 points and 8 assists against

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

. Against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, Ruoff tallied 12 points, 5 rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Ruoff then had a team-high 14 points against Notre Dame and 13 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and three steals against USF. He then had a team-high 18 points in the upset victory over #2

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. In the opening round of the Big East tournament, Ruoff scored 21 points against Providence. Then in the NIT tournament, Ruoff had his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 assists against

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The unive ...

. Ruoff finished the season second in the Big East in assist-to-turnover ratio, only behind teammate Darris Nichols, while his 191 assists was the third most in school history in a season.

Junior season

With the addition of new head coach

Bob Huggins Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953) is an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed “Huggy Bear,” he is currently the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team. Huggins previously held the head coach ...

, Ruoff and the Mountaineers began hot in his junior season of 2007. He opened his season up with 17 points, then 22 points against Prairie View A&M. In a 74-72 loss to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, Ruoff scored 14 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished 4 assists. In an 88-59 victory over Auburn, Ruoff scored a career-high 28 points, also adding 3 steals and 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. He then added 15 points and 5 assists in the victory over Duquesne. In the victory over Radford University, Ruoff scored 23 points, then followed it up with 14 points against Canisius. In the loss to Oklahoma, Ruoff scored 17 and in the following loss to Notre Dame he scored 18 points. In the victory over Marquette, Ruoff scored 19 points, but then scored 13 points in the loss to

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. But he bounced back with 23 points in the Syracuse win. He then had 14 points against South Florida and 13 points against Georgetown. In the 81-63 victory over

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

, Ruoff scored 14 points; followed by 15 points and 6 rebounds against

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

. In the 80-53 victory over Providence, Ruoff scored 14 points. In the 20th win of the season, against DePaul, Ruoff scored a team-high 22 points with 4 rebounds. Ruoff scored 12 points in a 79-71 loss to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. In the 76-62 victory over the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

in the home finale, Ruoff scored 14 points. In an 83-74 overtime victory over Providence, Ruoff scored 15 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Ruoff finished the season with 14.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3 assists per game on the year. In the first round of the NCAA tournament, Ruoff scored 21 points and grabbed 3 rebounds as the Mountaineers defeated the #10-seed Arizona Wildcats. In the second round upset over the #2-seed

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

, 73-67, Ruoff scored a key 17 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. In the Sweet 16 loss to #3-seed Xavier in overtime, Ruoff scored 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. In his junior season, Alex Ruoff averaged 13.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game over the season. In the Mountaineers' Sweet 16 Tournament run, Ruoff averaged 17.3 points and 5 rebounds per game.

Senior season

Ruoff began his senior campaign with 19 points, 6 steals, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds against Elon. Then against Longwood he scored 12 and grabbed 7 boards, and then scored 25 points and had 4 steals against

Delaware State Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four colle ...

to open the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament. In the following round against

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, he scored 13 points and had 3 assists, and then in the loss to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

he scored 10. As they beat

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, Ruoff scored 16 and had 3 assists. In the next win over Cleveland State, Ruoff became the 45th Mountaineer to exceed 1,000 career points scored with his 5 points in the game. Ruoff missed the following two losses, however, with a shoulder injury sustained in the Cleveland State game. Ruoff returned to action in the 82-46 victory over Miami University, totaling 15 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Ruoff broke WVU's school record for 3-point shots made in a game against Radford with 9, on his way to scoring a career high 38 points. In the 76-48 win over

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, Ruoff had 17 points; followed by 18 points in a win over

. In the loss to #1

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from ...

, he had 13 points and 7 rebounds. He then had 13 points and 8 assists in the loss to Marquette. Ruoff then had 15 points and 19 points against

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

and USF, respectively. In the 75-58 win over Georgetown, he had 10 points and 9 assists. As the Mountaineers lost to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

in the Backyard Brawl, Ruoff totaled 16 points. Following the loss, he totaled 17 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds in the victory over St. John's. Ruoff then had 16 points in the 69-63 loss to

. In the loss to Syracuse, he followed with 10 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Ruoff then had 24 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds in the win over Providence, reaching the 20-point mark for the first time in 11 games. In the next loss to Pittsburgh, he recorded 17 points. In the following 93-72 win over Villanova, he had 8 points. In the 79-68 win over Notre Dame, he had 24 points and 4 assists. Ruoff then had 12 points and 7 assists in the win over

. In the loss to

he had 18 points and in the following win over South Florida he had 16 points. In the win over DePaul he then had 20 points with six 3-pointers, typing himself at first place on WVU's all-time 3-point field goals list with Kevin Pittsnogle. Ruoff was expected to easily break Pittsnogle's record against

, but after his spending senior night scoreless and plagued by foul trouble, Ruoff could only hold his head in shame. In Ruoff's final regular season game as a Mountaineer, the 62-59 loss to #6

, Ruoff had 0 points and 6 turnovers - only playing 22 minutes due to 4 personal fouls. In the second round matchup of the Big East tournament against Notre Dame, Ruoff scored a team-high 25 points - breaking the school record for all-time 3-point shots made. In the quarterfinals round, a 74-60 victory over #2

, Ruoff scored 18 points with 2 rebounds and assists. In the semifinals' 74-69 overtime loss to #20 Syracuse, Ruoff scored 9 points with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Over the Tournament tenure, he averaged 17.3 points. However, the Mountaineers lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

, 68-60, with Ruoff scoring 9 points with 5 rebounds - only playing 24 minutes before fouling out. Alex Ruoff ended his senior season with career-highs of 15.7 points per game, 3.4 assists per game, and 3.6 rebounds per game. Ruoff had season-highs of 38 points and 8 rebounds against Radford, and 9 assists against Georgetown. Ruoff was one of five players named to ESPN the Magazine's 2008-2009 Academic All-America First team along with being named the 2008-09

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

Scholar Athlete of the Year. Ruoff was also named as an honorable mention selection to the All-Big East team and was named the Big East's 2008-09 recipient of the Sportsmanship Award.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2009 NBA draft, he joined the Washington Wizards for the 2009 NBA Summer League. He later joined Belgacom Liege Basket of Belgium for the 2009–10 season. He joined the New Jersey Nets for the 2010 NBA Summer League. In September 2010, he signed with Okapi Aalstar of Belgium for the 2010–11 season. In 2011, he re-signed with Aalstar for the 2011–12 season. However, in November 2011, he sustained a season-ending injury. On November 2, 2012, Ruoff was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2012 NBA Development League Draft by the Erie BayHawks. On November 5, he was traded to the Reno Bighorns. On November 6, he was again traded to the Canton Charge. On February 6, 2013, he was waived by Charge. On March 1, 2013, he was acquired by the Iowa Energy. In April 2013, he re-joined Aalstar for the rest of the 2012–13 season. In the summer of 2013, he signed with BG Göttingen of Germany. On June 29, 2015, Ruoff signed with Spanish club

Bilbao Basket Club Basket Bilbao Berri S.A.D., commonly known as Bilbao Basket (), also known as Surne Bilbao Basket for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Bilbao, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is the Bilba ...

for the 2015–16 season. The 2016–17 season Ruoff started with

MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg Riesen Ludwigsburg ( en, Giants Ludwigsburg), for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier of ...

but left the club on October 14, 2016, after appearing in five games. Six days later he returned to his former club Göttingen for the rest of the 2016–17 Basketball Bundesliga season. On July 16, 2017, Ruoff signed with Spanish club

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

for the 2017–18 season. In July 2018 he signed with Mitteldeutscher BC. On January 13, 2021, he has signed with

Brose Bamberg Brose Bamberg is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia / North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup five times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketbal ...

of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). Ruoff announced his retirement from professional basketball in late August 2022. He returned to West Virginia for the 2022-23 season, where he became a

Graduate Assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respo ...

, while pursuing a master’s degree in

sport management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiz ...

References

External links

NBA D-League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruoff, Alex 1986 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in Finland American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from Florida Basketball players from Ohio BG Göttingen players Bilbao Basket players Canton Charge players Helsinki Seagulls players Iowa Energy players Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players Liège Basket players Riesen Ludwigsburg players Mitteldeutscher BC players Okapi Aalstar players People from Spring Hill, Florida Shooting guards Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ohio Sportspeople from the Tampa Bay area West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball players