Recruiting Report: Jalen Suggs (2020)
At 6-foot-5 and about 190 pounds Jalen Suugs is a five star basketball player ranking in the top ten of the 2020 class plus he’s the sixth ranked dual threat junior quarterback in America. And Jalen is more than just…
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Continue ReadingAt 6-foot-5 and about 190 pounds Jalen Suugs is a five star basketball player ranking in the top ten of the 2020 class plus he’s the sixth ranked dual threat junior quarterback in America. And Jalen is more than just a top prospect, he’s been a winner.
Jalen’s athleticism has played a pivotal role in Minnehaha Academy earning two state championships in basketball and one in football in the past 20 months. Right now his basketball team is gunning for a third straight Class AA state title.
At the moment Minnehaha Academy is 9-2 on the season with Suggs scoring 26 points per game. Prep Hoops was present last Thursday when Suggs put up 17 points with 10 assists in a 58-41 victory over New Prague.
For the Redhawks this year’s team is a bit different. Post JaVonni Bickham graduated and signed a letter of intent with The University of Denver. Point guard Terry Lockett is now at Spire Academy in Ohio also excelling as a football-basketball dual athlete.
Minnehaha Academy still has talent with Suggs joined by nationally ranked seven foot sophomore Chet Holmgren, another two sport standout in Kaden Johnson and one of the top freshman in the Midwest Prince Aligbe, but it’s a younger team.
“I’d say once we got to March last year everybody was really locked in and on the same page,” Suggs said. “There was no arguing, we are all communicating and competing at a high level. It really was championship basketball. That was the best basketball that I’ve played since I have been here.
“The big difference right now with this year’s team is defense. We have been picking it up. We had a great defensive game the other day against Eden Prairie (a top ten ranked team in Minnesota’s Class AAAA level that the Minnehaha Academy Redhawks beat 61-60 as Jalen ended the game with a game winning block).
“Today was a good game for the first half. We just had to finish it off. We held (New Prague) to 14 points in the first half ,which was great. We just have to continue to grow and come together as a team. That will be the biggest challenge. Right now I like the spot we are in.”
Suggs scored 17 a game last year but offensively he’s picked things up to the tune of 26 points a game while playing against one of the tougher schedules in the state so far.
“Jalen has become a real positive leader for the boys,” said Minnehaha Academy Head Coach Lance Johnson. “I think that is probably the biggest thing from last year to this year.
“Jalen doesn’t get rattled. He’s been playing within himself as well. I think that is a sign that he is another year older. But with Jalen it’s funny, we say a year older but he’s already played 4.5 years of varsity basketball. He’s like a senior plus.”
This “senior plus” junior turns 18 this summer and he has a great understanding of the role he must play in 2018-19.
“I knew my role would have to increase significantly with Terry (Lockett) leaving,” Jalen explained. “He averaged about 13-14 points per game and was a big scorer for us. So like I said I’ve taken on that load throughout the early part of the season.
“Also, I’m really trying to pass the ball and get Chet, and Prince, Kaden, Donovan (Smith), and the rest of the guys involved early and often. Because once those guys get going they are a huge part of the team. It makes everything easier on myself.
“It allows forces our opponent out of the double team, passing the ball like that opens up lanes, so like I said they are all big parts of the team and I try to get all of them involved as much as I can.”
Suggs often played a similar role on the football field this fall. Minnehaha Academy pairs with Blake and St. Paul Academy in football and the team went undefeated for a state title two months ago.
Jalen missed the first three games of the regular season because of a leg injury suffered in the Fab 48 Basketball Tournament at the end of July. But in his ten games Suggs threw for nearly 1,600 years competing 59 percent of his passes for 12 touchdowns.
Suggs also rushed for 604 yards and eight scores, caught a touchdown pass, plus scored on one of his four interceptions playing defensive back. Throw in 20 tackles and a state title and you have a hell of a year! A special year.
“Oh man, winning a football title was way different (as compared to the basketball championships),” Jalen explained. “When you are in US Bank Stadium and you have the full lower bowl filled up, and you are on the field with your 60 brothers that you have been with all year, it’s amazing.
“We were never picked to get there (an obvious difference than the basketball team Jalen plays for). In a lot of the predictions we were picked to lose. We kept overcoming adversity. And there were a lot of times that we could of lost. Especially in the sections but we just kept going.
“That was extremely satisfying being that it was the first one, and we were never picked to win.”
What football player does Suggs look up to and pattern his game after?
“I try and model my game after DeShaun Watson. He is a quarterback that I watch often. Not only during games but also workouts. I’m close with his trainer so he is a guy that I really try to model my game after.
“Not only just his athletic ability and work outside the pocket but how he has improved inside the pocket as well. He had a great season and his overall ability as a quarterback is what I watch.”
Jalen has earned football scholarship offers from Minnesota, Georgia, Ohio State, Nebraska, Iowa State, Cal, and Iowa. The basketball programs from most of those schools have also offered Suggs as have Kansas, UCLA, Gonzaga, Georgetown, West Virginia, Baylor, Memphis, and numerous others.
So, will Jalen play both sports in college? One? There was a rumor that Jalen had played his last football game but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
“I will finish my football career in high school,” Jalen said ending rumors that he won’t play his senior season of football. So how does an athlete like Jalen even begin to bring down such a massive list of both basketball and football future options?
“It’s tough at times but it’s also a great chance to build relationships with so many different coaches,” Suggs said. “I get to meet new coaches every day. It’s truly a blessing.
“I just have to talk to my parents about things, continue to get better at both sports so I can give myself the best opportunity when the time comes, and just try to have fun with the process. Without that it would make this a lot harder than it is. But I’m having a great time with the recruiting process.”
Suggs has been on numerous visits including a football trip to Alabama, visits to Notre Dame and Ohio State, he’s previously mentioned trying to visit Georgetown, Florida, West Virginia, Kansas, Tennessee, Gonzaga, and Marquette this winter, and he’s been on the campus of The University of Minnesota several times for both football and basketball games/practices. Most recently Jalen saw the Gophers play in Williams Arena in December.
“Minnesota’s season has been great,” Suggs said. “I know they have had lapses where they haven’t played their best basketball but they have a lot of good young guys out there playing with some talented veteran players.
“I think for the future, it looks great for (the Gophers). This freshmen class looks special. Those guys are going to get comfortable and then add Marcus Carr the transfer for next year, so everything seems to be going their way right now.
“They had a big win against Wisconsin and I think that kind of woke the rest of the country up. It shows that Minnesota is back. I am proud of what the coaching staff is doing and I am proud of what a lot of the guys are doing like Amir (Coffey) who is playing great basketball. My guy Dupree (McBrayer), and the rest of the guys on the team. I have a lot of love for Minnesota.”
Coach Suggs and Minnesota Head Coach Richard Pitino continue to build a solid bond.
“Coach Pitino is a great guy, a real straight up man,” Suggs said. “He gives you a lot of freedom. If you are having a game he is definitely going to get you the looks to be able to put yourself in a scoring position.
“The relationship that Coach Pitino and I have is real smooth. We are almost like friends instead of a coach-player thing which is big to me. So like I said Minnesota is really high on my list right now, I can’t wait to see what their future holds.”
Coach Lance Johnson said that Coach Pitino and his staff has been a constant at Minnehaha Academy.
“They show lots of interest,” Johnson said of the Gophers. “They come to practices and they are in constant communication with Jalen and Chet. That’s been great.”
Suggs and the Redhawks play Blake tonight followed by a game at Caledonia on Friday night and a match-up in La Crosse, Wisconsin at the Midwest Players Classic on Saturday.