April 25, 2008

TCU head men's basketball coach Jim Christian announced on Friday (Apr. 25) that Weatherford College standout Edvinas Ruzgas (Vilnius, Lithuania/Weatherford College) has signed a National Letter of Intent and will join the Horned Frogs in the Fall of 2008.

"We're really excited to have Edvinas join our program," said Christian. "Edvinas embodies exactly what we are looking for in a player and fills the hole for us in his three-point shooting. He comes from a winning program and understands what it takes to be a winner so we're looking forward to him joining us."

Ruzgas comes to the TCU men's basketball program after a stellar sophomore campaign with the Coyotes where the 6-6 forward garnered first team All-North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference accolades along with a NJCAA All-Region V selection.

The newly-inked Frog ranked eighth among all NJCAA players and first in Region V in three-point shooting percentage after connecting on 50.3 percent (89-of-177) of his trey attempts. In addition to averaging 19.3 points per game - Ruzgas finished third among all Region VI players in shooting percentage after connecting on 61.2 percent (177-of-289) of his field goal attempts to go along with 84.3 percent (97-of-115) of his free throw percentage.

Ruzgas ranked fourth among all Region V players in three-point field goals made per game (3.179 3FGM-G) and fifth in scoring average (19.3 P-G). Ruzgas scored 20 or more points 12 times during the 2007-08 - including a career-high 44 points against Grayson Community College. In that contest against Grayson - the 6-6 forward connected on 15-of-21 shots - including a school-record 10 three-pointers.

The Coyotes' standout also collected 35 points on 11-of-12 shooting to go along with 9-of-9 at the charity stripe and 4-of-5 from behind the three-point arc against Navarro College. Ruzgas scored a team-high 30 points in the Region V quarterfinals against South Plains Community College while posting 29 points on a pair of occasions against Trinity Valley Junior College and Temple College, respectively.

On January 13th - Ruzgas was recognized as the NJCAA Region V Player of the Week after scoring 30 points against Temple College - who was undefeated at the time - in the first game of conference action. The 6-6 forward connected on 6-of-9 three-pointers to go along with seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocked shots in that contest.

Ruzgas was a member of a Weatherford College basketball program that finished with a 24-6 overall record - including an 11-2 mark in North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference action. After capturing the conference title - the Coyotes went into Region V Tournament action as the top-seed.

Ruzgas made an immediate impact on the Coyotes from his first season as he was recognized as an All-North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference honorable mention selection during the 2006-07 campaign.

Prior to joining Weatherford College - Ruzgas graduated from The Miller School in Charlottesville, Va., where he was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the Virginia Independent School District. An honorable mention all-state performance as a senior - Ruzgas averaged 12.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while leading his prep program to the VIC State Finals.

Ruzgas becomes the first player to sign a National Letter of Intent under Christian - who became the head men's basketball coach at TCU on March 29th.

TCU Athletic Media Relations