As the Buffs prepared for a 2023-24 season with high expectations, they thought they would be without guard Javon Ruffin.

A redshirt sophomore guard, Ruffin was a mainstay in Tad Boyle’s rotation off the bench last season but missed the final seven games with a knee injury. As the offseason got underway, it was announced that Ruffin’s knee would keep him out for the entirety of the 2023-24 season.

However, his rehab was way ahead of schedule, allowing him to return to practice just before Christmas. Ahead of the Buffs’ conference opener last Friday night against Washington, Boyle said that Ruffin would not return to game action in the Buffs’ first two conference matchups. But with CU severely shorthanded and Ruffin showing no ill effects of the injury in practice, Boyle called his number against the Huskies.

“He’s been around me this whole rehab process,” Ruffin said of his head coach. “He knows I’ve been working, he knows that I’m putting in the work, time, and effort to get back. So I think he just knew that I was physically ready, and that he could put me out there, and I’m gonna do whatever I can for the team.”

Ruffin played just six minutes against Washington, grabbing two rebounds, but was crucial in allowing the Buffs’ big-minute players to take a breather in the absence of four rotation players. Ruffin was rusty, which was to be expected, but it spoke volumes about the way his head coach thought of him that he would put him out there in a tight conference game after such a long layoff.

“I’ve got complete trust in Javon,” Boyle said. “He’s a smart player, he understands our system. It’s just a matter of him getting the rust off of his game and understanding that there’s gonna be a little of that. There’s gonna be a period when he comes back where he’s not in tip top shape, he’s not on the top of his game. It’s just a matter of every day, trying to get a little bit better, get a little bit closer to where you were pre-injury, and he’s well on that timeline. He’s well on that road.”