Former Peoria High basketball star leans on past while building the Lions' future

PEORIA — Daniel Ruffin is relying on those that taught him as he navigates his first full season as boys basketball coach at Peoria High.

The 2003 Peoria High grad led the Lions during the pandemic-shortened season last spring, but this is his first full season leading the iconic program.

Peoria High (6-6, 2-0), the Big 12 Conference co-leader, travels to Bloomington (4-11, 0-3) for a league matchup at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Looking to his mentors

Obviously, Ruffin turns to his dad and former Peoria High coach, Dan Ruffin, for advice, but he’s also still in touch with his high school coach, Chuck Buescher. The younger Ruffin says he constantly is picking Buescher’s brain about anything and everything basketball related — particularly because of his "old-school" approach.

Ruffin's respect for Buescher remains high to this day.

“As a player underneath him, he got the most out of all his players,” Ruffin said. “There were some years he didn’t have the most talent, but he got the most out of his players and competed every day.”

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Ruffin also stays very much in contact with his former Bradley coach Jim Les, who has provided his 2006 NCAA Sweet Sixteen point guard a rough road map on how to prepare his players for college.

“He’s still in the game,” Ruffin said of the current UC Davis coach. “As a college coach, what do he look for? When he’s going out recruiting, what are you looking for? … The biggest goal that I have is I want (my players) to go off and play somewhere they have an advantage just because they went through my program.

“That’s an advantage I had as a player because coach Buescher had us prepared for the next level.”

One tip both of his former coaches may need to give Ruffin is learning how to delegate. After spending six years in the Peoria High program has an assistant, Ruffin has found it hard to let go of tasks his persistent coaching staff reminds him they are perfectly capable of performing.

But doing the little things like the laundry doesn’t bother him one bit.

“I’m still in assistant coach mode,” Ruffin said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t ask (my assistants) to do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Being a mentor to his players

When it comes to his players, though, that’s a different story for Ruffin. He points to senior Staishaun Kelley as an example of a player who reminds him of himself.

Both can handle the ball with ease and score but being more naturally quiet, the 6-foot guard stepping up as a leader remains a work in progress.

“He’s took a focus on growing in that area,” Ruffin said, “and I think he’s doing a great job of being that leader and being that vocal leader especially when some things aren’t going right and he’s that coach on the floor.”

Added Kelley, “I do kind of see myself in him. He kind of talked to me about stepping up. He said, ‘You always got to be vocal’, and with that it becomes everybody else. Everybody else falls in line once the leader kind of gets everyone set.”

The all-Big 12 Conference first-teamer comes off a big four-game stretch where he averaged 17.5 points a game at the State Farm Holiday Classic. He’s proven to be the team’s most consistent scorer, putting up 22 points in an opening round win over Bradley-Bourbonnais.

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Confidence, according to Kelley, has been the biggest factor in his jump from a role player to being the No. 1 scoring option.

“I wouldn't necessarily say focus,” Kelley said of his offensive game improving from last season. “I just try to make the winning play. Sometimes that comes with me scoring the ball. I really worked (in the offseason) on the stuff I do in the game.”

Pride in the Lions

Ultimately, Ruffin has found a great amount of pride in coaching at his alma mater. His objective is to just prepare all his players to be ready for what’s after basketball.

And for some of his players, their future may include playing at the next level.

“It's been rewarding just seeing the guys progress, you know, under my lead,” Ruffin said. “It’s a great opportunity for me to be able to lead in a in a different role. Obviously, as a player my role was to lead as a point guard. Now, I’m the point of the program.”

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA basketball: Peoria High coach Daniel Ruffin settles into coaching