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Ruoff is attracting many Div. I offers

Central senior plans to choose between 15 schools by September.

TAMPA - At 6-feet-3, Alex Ruoff could handle the ball and shoot. When he grew to 6-6 between his sophomore and junior seasons without losing his skills, colleges began to take notice.

Now 6-7, the Central senior seemingly is on everybody's wish list.

"A year and a half ago, I didn't get one Division I school looking at me," Ruoff said. "It kind of just blew up."

Months before the start of his senior season, Ruoff has full scholarship offers from 15 Division I schools.

He took an unofficial visit to North Carolina-Wilmington a couple of months ago and has official visits scheduled for Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 20, West Virginia on Aug. 27 and College of Charleston on Sept. 3.

If all goes well, he might opt out of his two remaining visits and choose between Miami (Ohio), West Virginia, College of Charleston and UNC-Wilmington sometime in September.

"Right now, I think that's all I'll need," Ruoff said.

Charleston Southern, DePaul, High Point (N.C.), Kent State, Old Dominion, St. Bonaventure, South Florida, Stonybrook (N.Y.), Tennessee-Chattanooga, Virginia Tech and Wright State have made offers.

"We had 12 coaches through here in a week for workouts," Central coach John Sedlack said.

Ruoff, the Times All-Citrus/Hernando Player of the Year last season, averaged 22.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Central to a share of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championship, second in its district and its first playoff berth in five seasons. The guard/forward is projected as a shooting guard in college. Schools like his height, versatility and knowledge of the game.

"West Virginia loves me because their point guard is going to be 6-6, and with me at 6-7 we're going to be the tallest backcourt in the Big East," Ruoff said. "That's what pretty much everybody likes, to get the mismatches."

Virginia Tech was the first school to offer a scholarship, near the end of the school year. Ruoff was so thrilled he nearly committed to the ACC school before pushing back a visit to play in an AAU tournament.

"That was huge," Ruoff said of his first offer. "I was ready to commit. I kind of jumped into the process to get it over with and skip the whole recruiting process."

Ruoff and his brother stopped by UNC-Wilmington for an unofficial visit while driving to a tournament in June. Among the things Ruoff liked about the school was its campus, proximity to the beach, conference affiliation Athletic Association and support (it has sold out 24 of its past 25 home games). But until he sees other schools, Ruoff won't have a point of comparison.

"(UNC-Wilmington) is definitely in the top three, because they came to see my game last year (a loss to Ridgewood in which Ruoff had 24 points and 8-9 rebounds)," he said. "They've been with me since the beginning."

The 209-pound Ruoff spent the summer preparing his body and game. He brought his bench press back up to 260 pounds after losing it during the season, played AAU ball and worked out for college coaches. But his most memorable experience was at the National Basketball Players' Association Top 100 Camp at Virginia Commonwealth, where he played against some of the nation's top prep players, including Cincinnati's O.J. Mayo, who could become the first to skip his senior year of high school to play in the NBA.

"I came away from it with more confidence," Ruoff said. "It told me I can hang at that level with those kind of players."

Ruoff hopes to stay involved with basketball as long as he can, whether playing professionally or working as a graduate assistant. He plans to major in education, perhaps with an eye toward becoming a history teacher, as a backup. By committing early, he hopes to ease the pressure of having to put up big numbers during his senior season.

"Exposure-wise, I'm at the max," Ruoff said. "Everybody knows about me, and those that want me are showing it."

Charleston Southern, College of Charleston, DePaul, High Point (N.C.), Kent State, Miami (Ohio), North Carolina-Wilmington, Old Dominion, St. Bonaventure, South Florida, Stonybrook (N.Y.), Tennessee-Chattanooga, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Wright State.