The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
Since the team first started playing in the early 1900s, the Long Beach Poly boys’ basketball squad has won nearly 2,200 games (a state record by more than 300 games). They’ve won 65 league titles, 20 CIF-SS championships, produced a state-best nine NBA players, and had more than 100 players go on to the NCAA Division 1 level.
None of those historic players, on any of those historic teams, did what Jackrabbit senior Jovani Ruff did on Wednesday night in the Ron Palmer Pavilion. Ruff scored 51 points to break the all-time school record for points in a single game. The first-ever Poly 50-ball came on a night where the Jackrabbits dominated Compton, 112-54.
“This is my last regular season game here at Poly, and I’m just thankful for my teammates and my coach, I wanted to put on a show for them,” said Ruff, who is signed with Cal.
Ruff is an inherently unselfish basketball player. He’s less than 100 points from the school and city all-time career scoring record after Wednesday’s game, but has only once scored more than 30 points in a game (his sophomore year, no less). Why? Because when he’s doubled he finds the open teammate, and he never forces the issue. Even in Wednesday’s game, when he heard he had 51 points, he turned to Poly coach Shelton Diggs and asked to come out.
“I heard it was 50 and I said ok, chill,” said Ruff, who exited the game with three minutes left in the third quarter and the game well in hand.
“He always has 28, 29, he never does this,” said Diggs. “He’s just a great, unselfish superstar. It’s good for him to have a night like he did tonight, he deserves this. His teammates were looking for him, they want that record for him, it’s great. His teammates, they’re all close friends, so of course they want him to make history.”
Diggs said that he feels Ruff is a worthy player to accept the mantle of making history at Poly–a difficult thing to do given how many great players have come through the program.
“If you know Poly, we’ve always had deep teams, and guys haven’t really gotten numbers like that,” he said. “That sets Jovani apart. He’s going to be one of those Poly greats, and he can always say he’s got the highest scoring game ever up to right now.”
Ruff admitted that while he is not typically concerned with his own stats, he was excited to break 50 points and also to be closing in on the all-time city and school career scoring record.
“I’m a kid, obviously I do care about it,” he said. “But I’d say it’s like, 60%. I want to play the right way and keep maintaining that. But tonight was fun, it was really exciting, I’ll never forget this my whole life. I’ll be able to tell everybody, my kids my grandkids, I had 50 in my last regular season game at Poly.”
For Ruff’s mother, Tiana Ruff, it was a special night.
“This is what he was here for, that’s why he came to this school, to do it for Long Beach,” she said. A Jackrabbit herself, she said the last four years have been incredible with or without the records.
“It’s extra special for me because I went here,” she said. “I’m so proud of him. I just love watching my son play–that’s the best feeling. Breaking records on top of that, it’s icing on the cake for me, it really is.”
Ruff has three more regular season games as well as whatever playoff journey Poly has to amass 94 more points. Poly faces Jordan Friday, then Compton again and Cabrillo next week to round out the regular season.
