Former NCAA scoring champion Ruben Douglas dead at 44

Former NCAA scoring champion Ruben Douglas has died at the age of 44.

Douglas, who was a star player at New Mexico in the early 2000s, died on April 12 while in Costa Rica after falling ill. Reports about his death were not published until Friday, April 26.

According to what Ruben’s brother Ramon told the Albuquerque Journal, Ruben became sick while in Costa Rica and died of an unknown infection. Douglas’ family believed Ruben was in good health, so his death came as a surprise to them.

Ruben had been living in both Arizona and Costa Rica and traveling back and forth between the two locations. He has two children in Arizona and a brother and mother in California, plus another brother in the Washington, D.C. area, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

Douglas was part of a monster recruiting class for Arizona in 1998 that also included future NBA players Richard Jefferson and Luke Walton. After spending one season at Arizona, Douglas transferred to New Mexico, where he went on to enjoy a legendary career.

From 2001-2003, Douglas made the Mountain West All-Conference team three times and was named the conference’s player of the year as a senior in 2003. That same year, Douglas averaged 28.0 points per game, which led the NCAA.

After college, Douglas went on to enjoy a lengthy professional career in Europe. In 2005, he led Fortitudo Bologna to the Italian League title. The next year, Douglas led Russian team Dynamo Moscow to its first EuroCup title and was named finals MVP, according to New Mexico’s website.

Douglas was extremely well known for his high school exploits at Bellarmine-Jefferson High School in Burbank, Calif. He and future NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas were often considered the two best players in the San Fernando Valley around that time. Both players ended up at the University of Arizona — just one year apart.