The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
Long Beach Poly senior Jovani Ruff is a nominee for the historic McDonald’s All-American Game. Becoming a nominee is the first step to officially being named to the game, which will be held April 1 in Brooklyn at the Nets’ Barclays Center.
Long Beach has produced nine McDonald’s All-Americans, seven of them from Long Beach Poly. If Ruff is selected for the game he’d be the first from the city to receive that honor since NBA champion Peyton Watson was selected from the Jackrabbits in 2021.
It would be a fitting honor for Ruff, who is closing in on the all-time Long Beach city scoring record. He eschewed the transfer trend of the current generation and chose to play for his hometown public school instead of transferring to a prep program.
It certainly didn’t hurt his recruiting, as a stream of NCAA schools came through Poly to court Ruff, who ended up selecting Cal as his NCAA destination.
Long Beach McDonald’s All-Americans
Chris Sandle (Long Beach Poly) 1984
Darrick Martin (St. Anthony) 1988
Travon Bryant (Jordan) 2000
Jasmine Dixon (Long Beach Poly) 2008
Monique Oliver (Long Beach Poly) 2009
Ariya Crook-Williams (Long Beach Poly) 2011
Lajahna Drummer (Long Beach Poly) 2014
Ayanna Clark (Long Beach Poly) 2017
Peyton Watson (Long Beach Poly) 2021
