By Jordan Burton (@thejordanburton)
On May 3, 2012, 3-star guard Austin Ruder committed to Missouri State, becoming the best Ozarks’ guard to stay home since Spencer Laurie.
Now, nearly five years to the day, Ruder will end his collegiate career wearing a different uniform after signing with Oral Roberts as a graduate transfer on Tuesday afternoon.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity for us to turn it around this year,” said Ruder. “No one will be expecting a lot because of the recent struggles, but I know we are going to get to work right away to make sure we have a successful season. The ultimate goal is to make the NCAA tournament. Whatever it takes is what I’m going to do, and I think that will be the culture that is built in the program.”
Austin Ruder and Missouri State seemed like a match made in heaven.
After enjoying the most decorated career in program history at Nixa – becoming the Eagles all-time leading scorer and leading team to 101 wins in four years – Ruder’s commitment was a shot in the arm for a Missouri State program that was coming off of a disappointing 16-16 season despite returning Missouri Valley Player of the Year Kyle Weems and coming off of a 26-9 campaign in its previous season under Cuonzo Martin.
The Bears struggled through an 11-22 season in 2012-13, but the arrival of Ruder, Devon Thomas and 7-footer Tyler McCullough in the highly touted 2013 class helped keep Missouri State fans hopeful and rightly so.
Missouri State and Paul Lusk won 20 games and made a postseason appearance during Ruder’s freshman season with the sharpshooter dropping 72 3-pointers, the most ever by a Missouri State freshman and tied for third-best ever by a freshman player in the Missouri Valley. Ruder was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team.
Ruder’s next three seasons were filled with injuries and inconsistency – as was the state of Missouri State Basketball – with the Bears going just 41-55 from 2014-17 including Ruder sitting out nearly the entire 2015-16 season following surgery on his hip labrum.
“My freshman year we ran a lot of sets that led to me getting a lot more open shots,” said Ruder. “My sophomore year we started running more of an isolation-focused style of basketball that led to bad shots and a more selfish style of play. Everything was based on the shots you could create for yourself instead of the shots you could create for your teammates.
“When you’re a mid-major it’s hard to win consistently playing that style of basketball. The injuries didn’t help, obviously, but the style of play change was a bigger factor. I turned into the last resort option if someone else by accident couldn’t get a shot off. I think Oral Roberts will help get me some open looks, and I think it’ll lead to everyone on the team getting open looks.”
The move to Tulsa reunites Ruder with another former Bear – ORU interim head coach Rodney Perry.
Perry helped lead then Southwest Missouri State to the NCAA Tournament as a player in 1992. He has had several D-1 coaching stops, but also coached AAU power MOKAN Elite, guiding the program to a Peach Jam Final Four in 2012 with Ruder playing a major role on that team.
Ruder credits much of who he is as a player to Coach Perry.
“I can’t put into words how excited I am to be playing under Coach P again,” said Ruder. “I’d say he’s a huge reason I’m the player I am today. He taught me how to play the game the right way and that discipline is the most important part of a team.”
Oral Roberts went just 8-22 this season, a major factor in the firing of longtime head coach Scott Sutton. The Eagles lose their top two perimeter scorers in Jalen Bradley and Kris Martin. Incoming guard Jamichael Morgan was recently released from his LOI, leaving the program with even less help on the perimeter.
The addition of Austin Ruder couldn’t come at a better time for Perry and the Eagles.
Oral Roberts not only gets a student-athlete that has been an All-Valley Scholar-Athlete selection, but a player that has good basketball left in his tank. Ruder is a career 36% 3-point shooters and will instantly become one of the best catch-and-shoot players in the league. His ability to extend defenses will make life easier on returning All-Summit pick Albert Owens.
On pace to get a bachelor’s degree in accounting this spring and with some of the injuries he’s faced, it would be easy for Ruder to walk away from basketball and start his professional life. At times he thought that might be the best option, but that’s not quite how he’s wired.
The opportunity to help resurrect ORU Basketball and get the program back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008 is appealing – as is the chance to end his personal journey with a bang – alongside Coach Perry. Only adding to the redemption theme is the likelihood that Oral Roberts and Missouri State will again meet during the 2017-18 regular season.
“Honestly before I started my college career I said if I ever had a big injury that took a lot of rehabbing to be able to play again I’d be done with basketball,” said Ruder. “I decided to play the next year and now I’m in a situation to play my last college year under my mentor. I’ve always believed that God makes everything happen for a reason, and I don’t think that has ever been more true for me than right now.
“Knowing that it’s my last chance adds fuel to the fire,” said Ruder. “When I was a junior in high school playing for MOKAN, Coach P had always told our team that we had the ability to make it to the Peach Jam. He had never been and our only goal was to make that tournament. The last weekend we had to win five of six to make it in, and we got it done and went. I think this is a lot like this situation going to ORU. It should be fun.”
