(Photo By Flickr User Eric Wong)

Daniel Ruffin will coach again this season in the Midwest Professional Basketball Association. But this time, he’ll work in his hometown.

According to pjstar.com, Ruffin, the former Peoria High and Bradley Basketball standout guard, was coach of the MPBA’s Champaign Swarm for eight games last season, has been named head coach of the minor league’s newest franchise in Peoria. Ruffin was 4-4 in Champaign, taking over the team at midseason after a 1-7 start.

The Peoria basketball club will play its home games at the old Woodruff high school gym. The team’s nickname and schedule will be announced in a few weeks.

C. Edward Schumer, commissioner and chief executive officer for the MPBA  said in a statement,

“Peoria is a market we’ve had our eye on from the beginning. We are proud and honored that Peoria Public Schools District 150 has decided to work with us and allow us to use their facilities.”

Ruffin’s brother, A.J. Guyton (last year’s MPBA associate commissioner), was hired last week to coach the Windy City Bulls (Chicago Bulls) of the NBA D-League.

The MPBA was launched in 2015.

The league played the 2016 season with seven teams: Champaign Swarm, Pontiac 66ers, Lima Express, Windy City Groove, St. Louis RiverSharks, Gateway Steam, and eventual champion Chicago Blues.

This year, the MPBA added three other Central Illinois cities to the list, Bloomington (relocated from Lima, OH), Eureka, and Jacksonville.