2021 NBA Draft: Jalen Suggs, a ferocious competitor with a 'magical aura,' determined to make teams pay for passing on him
Updated: Jul. 28, 2021, 4:22 p.m. | Published: Jul. 28, 2021, 5:10 a.m.
Jalen Suggs was at his best in the biggest moments. AP
By Chris Fedor, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It was overtime of the NCAA Tournament semifinals. Gonzaga and UCLA tied at 90. A championship appearance hanging in the balance. A dream season slipping away. Perfection on the line. The most important seconds in Gonzaga's 113-year history.
Jalen Suggs, the Bulldogs' star and one of the most hyped prospects in school history, had scored just 13 points in 40 minutes and made one 3-pointer. It wasn't his best night.
But coach Mark Few had seen this scenario before; plenty of times on Brown Court, the team's on-campus practice facility.
After Johnny Juzang's putback layup with 3.3 seconds remaining, there was no hesitancy about where the ball was going. Few doesn't like to call timeouts in those moments. He wants the ball inbounded quickly, not allowing the defense to set and organize. In his mind, it's the best chance to make an open-court play. Suggs, the mature floor general, knew that. So did senior Corey Kispert.
Kispert pulled the ball out of the net and stepped toward the baseline. Suggs called for the pass, received it in motion, took three dribbles across halfcourt, glanced up at the timer and launched. It wasn't a late-clock desperation heave but rather a confident pull-up from a unfazed kid with an erratic jumper.
"I said after the game and it might have sounded crazy, but I knew it was in because we had numerous practices where he didn't shoot the ball well or made just a couple 3s or plays during practice," Few said during a recent NBA TV interview. "Then we do end-of-game situations and he'd have this uncanny knack of making these buzzer-beater shots when we put him out there and start counting down. It's amazing how many of those last-second shots he made in practice. He's a big-time winner. He has a magical aura."
Magical aura. It factor. Clutch gene. Cojones. Call it whatever. It's an unquantifiable trait that only a special select few have.
There's no predictive stat for it. You know it when you see it -- the quality that makes Suggs extraordinary.
"He's the Russell Wilson of the NBA," a scout told cleveland.com. "He makes teams better and guys gravitate toward his magnetic personality. His intangibles are unmatched. He hates losing."
QB1
Born in St. Paul, Minn. to Larry Suggs and Molly Manley, Jalen seemed destined to be a star.
His family ruled basketball courts and football fields in the Twin Cities for five decades. Dad was a two-sport high school standout. Cousin Rickey was Mr. Basketball runner-up in 1980 before playing Division II hoops at Nebraska-Omaha and then competing in the Canadian Football League. Another cousin, Raena, played collegiately at Weber State. Then there's Terrell Suggs, the 2011 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Super Bowl champion, as well as former NBA All-Star Eddie Jones -- also part of that accomplished Suggs family tree.
A likely top-five pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Jalen grew up loving football and basketball. Choosing his athletic path was tricky.
Prior to joining Gonzaga, he became the first athlete in Minnesota history to win Mr. Football and Mr. Basketball in the same season. On the hardwood, he was Minnehaha Academy's all-time leading scorer, racking up 2,945 career points, and leading the school to three state titles. As a quarterback, he led SMB -- a collaborative program that combined Minnehaha Academy with two other local schools -- to a pair of state championship games, winning one in 2018 and falling short the following year. In his senior year, he threw for 2,213 yards and 25 touchdowns. A dual-threat signal caller, Suggs racked up 978 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.
He had scholarship offers from football powers Georgia and Ohio State, as well as Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska and Minnesota.
It was time for Suggs to decide. Accept one of the six scholarship offers to play football, or commit to basketball.
"It was the hardest week of my life, honestly," Suggs said. "It was something I knew I had to talk to my dad about. I wasn't afraid of talking to him about it, but I was afraid of actually having that conversation and coming to terms that it might be it for football. We broke it down -- the pros and cons and what it would like a couple years down the line. It was hard to let go. Just because I love it so much. I've been playing it my entire life. It's my home away from home. I go to the basketball court to just get my mind off things, that's where I'm comfortable. The same goes for the football field. Looking back on it I have no regrets at all. We knew (going to the NBA) was a real high possibility, that I would be sitting in this spot, with these opportunities."
Suggs' football background -- quarterback and safety -- shows in his play. Aggressiveness. Toughness. Vision.
"He can really see the floor. He has incredible vision," Few said. "He just has that gift and that feel and all great passers have that, right? He sees it, which I think is the hardest thing to try to develop out of a player. But he also has the God-given talent and physical makeup to be able to make those plays. He's also got a tremendous belief in himself and incredible confidence that he can make plays that maybe other people wouldn't think they could."
One example came on Jan. 2. If not for his Final Four heroics months later, it would've been the signature play on Suggs' highlight reel.
Late in the game against San Francisco, Suggs grabbed a rebound, took a dribble, quickly scanned the court and threw a near-full-court, one-handed bounce pass that spun perfectly, checking up like a pitching wedge, to streaking teammate Dominick Harris for a layup. The pass had to fit between multiple defenders and sneak by hands -- a throwback to his days as QB1 when he had to fit spirals into tight windows.
"It's true when they talk about the comparison between a quarterback and how it goes to the basketball floor," Kispert said. "He's able to see stuff before it happens. Even at a really young age he made some really mature decisions and mature plays for us. He plays the game the right way. That's one of the things that I was the most impressed with: The way he carried himself and how way he cared about his teammates and others. Whatever team ends up drafting him is going to be really lucky because they're going to get a guy who is going to change their organization for the better."
Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs brings the ball up the court during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Loyola Marymount in Spokane, Wash., Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Beyond his acumen and intangibles, Suggs' determination sets him apart. He doesn't back down from a challenge -- even when playing up in competition.
When he was five years old, family friend and future AAU coach Brian Sandifer was missing the requisite number of players for a ninth-grade tournament. He turned to Suggs. The shorts went down to his feet. But after Mom rolled them up, he started competing against teenagers. That's how the legend goes anyway. At 4, he played against kids twice his age and size. During an open run of high school seniors, Suggs was the best player on the court -- as a sixth grader. In seventh grade, he played varsity.
It was similar on the gridiron. Suggs still tells the story of being about five years old playing quarterback and taking some crushing blind-side hits in a 10-year-old tackle football league. One time he needed to be pulled off the field with tears in his eyes.
No wonder Few has often referred to Suggs as a "ferocious competitor."
"I've always wanted to be the best and play with the best and against the best people," Suggs said. "I've always wanted to play up and I've embraced that. It's made me better, honestly. From a young age I had to learn how to do things a little different, because I wasn't always the most athletic and I wasn't always the biggest. When I started to grow and turn into a man and really filled into my body, I already had that knowledge on how to beat guys, how to be successful without those tools that I have now."
Suggs' fire came out during a pre-draft Zoom call Tuesday afternoon. He said he was most looking forward to playing against Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard. When discussing other draft mates, Suggs began with praise, declaring that the 2021 class could go down in history alongside 2003, which churned out future Hall of Famers LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, among others.
Suggs knows his peers well, playing alongside Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes at USA Basketball. He's seen them up close. Recognizes the strengths and weakness.
"For as great as talent as they are, they're even better people," Suggs said. "I think that's what makes it so special. Our talent on the floor speaks for itself, but off the floor and in locker rooms, we're guys who lead and guys who you want in your locker rooms. Just a special class. We definitely have a chance to rival that 2003 class that was so legendary."
Suggs didn't lobby to be drafted high. He didn't say he was the best. He believes he can fit in any system. City doesn't matter. Teammates don't either.
"Wherever I do end up, that's God's plan and it was meant to be," Suggs said.
But then he issued a warning. To the analysts who continue to criticize different areas of his game. To the teams in the top 3 -- including the Cleveland Cavaliers -- who are likely to choose Cunningham, Green and Mobley in some order before Suggs on Thursday night.
"The ones that do pass up on me and take another prospect, it'll come back to their detriment," he said. "You can look at my track record and know what I've done, where I've been, it's always win at the highest level, and my play has been at the highest level. If somebody else makes a decision that's not me, that's their opinion and I can never be angry at them for that. But I don't forget those kinds of things. That's just the kind of competitor I am."
Suggs was coy about the teams he's worked out for during the pre-draft process. But this offseason is different than most. Not only because he's preparing, both mentally and physically, for the ruthless NBA -- an exhausting 82-game grind against the best. This is the first time there's a singular focus.
Growing up, it was always a basketball-football balance. During the five months in fall, basketballs were put in the closet, not to be touched until the football season ended. Then it was time to hide the pigskin. A total focus on the sport in front of him.
Now, the cleats are hung up. For good.
Off the court, it's about adding strength and improving flexibility. Already 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, his shoulders and chest have the been the targets, recognizing the physical toll that comes with fighting through screens. He wants to be able to take on and dish out "bumps."
A self-labeled perfectionist, Suggs has been in the gym night and day working on every facet of his game. He saw the effectiveness of Trae Young's floater against drop coverage in the postseason, studying the technical nuances that keep defenders guessing between lob and shot. There are extra daily reps on that teardrop, wanting to get it to an elite level -- even though he scored 1.10 points per dribble jump shot in the half court, ranking in the 93rd percentile.
"If you got it, money," Suggs said of the floater. "It's honestly like an easy shot, a simple two points and something that's really hard to guard. I think that will open up getting to the basket and finishing at the rim more."
That's another focus area. Suggs can take defenders off the bounce. Capable of changing speeds and getting downhill, Suggs often turned the corner out of ball screes and created looks inside. But he didn't always finish, tallying just 1.18 points per shot at the rim, which ranked in the 59th percentile. He had the second-lowest field goal percentage at the rim on his team, converting at a 64.1% clip.
The outside shot received plenty of attention since the end of the college season as well. Even though the mechanics look sound and repeatable, Suggs scored 0.92 points per catch-and-shoot attempt in the half court, which was in the 39th percentile. He shot 42% on 2-point jumpers and 33.7% from long range. Those are low marks that don't point to future shooting success.
But there's room for growth. And time for extra sessions these days, especially given his loosened schedule.
"I haven't been a full-time basketball player yet," Suggs said. "I think I have the most improvement to make out of anybody in this draft. Couple that with the work ethic I know I carry and it's scary to think about how good I can become. Sky is the limit."
Closing in on a dream
This is the time of year when scouts and executives must make blunt, honest evaluations. Perhaps even nitpick flaws. There's plenty of tangible skills that make Suggs appealing.
A big guard with a crafty handle who may be able to play on or off the ball, Suggs understands how to run a team, cuts masterfully without the ball and is an open-court menace, ranking second in the conference, scoring 5.2 points per game in transition. Even though he's not long, with just a 6-foot-6 wingspan, Suggs is a capable -- and willing -- defender, who should be able to match up at either guard spot. He hounds ball handlers, recognizes sets, reads the game, disrupts passing lanes and pursues loose balls. A coach's dream.
"Jalen Suggs may be the most well-rounded of the prospects in this draft," said longtime NBA draft analyst Chad Ford. "I had a scout say he's a quarterback on offense and a defensive back on defense, referring to his former football playing days.
"The thing I think everyone loves about Jalen Suggs is how driven he is. All these guys at the top are driven, but Jalen Suggs takes it to another level. The chip he plays with on his shoulder. If you watched the national championship game against Baylor, Gonzaga was getting crushed, and you could see the defeat in everyone's eyes on the court except Jalen Suggs. He was still out there playing like, 'We still have a chance, we're still in this.'"
The Cavs are sitting third. Suggs, who averaged 14.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals as the first ever freshman to start for Few, has supporters among Cleveland's scouting staff. But he's also viewed as a stylistic duplicate of Darius Garland, the promising point guard who many in the organization believe is the most talented young player on the roster.
With a belief that Mobley will be the pick at three, most prognosticators peg Suggs to the Toronto Raptors. Still, there's growing chatter about him sliding to fifth, with Toronto considering Barnes.
That's quite a change from a few months ago when Suggs' stellar freshman campaign -- complete with a Final Four appearance and consensus Second Team All-American nod -- led to fleeting No. 1 buzz.
Even if that seemed like a longshot, Suggs was at least supposed to be in the draft's top tier, lumped with Cunningham, Green and Mobley.
Has that changed? Why?
"He brings a lot of stuff to the table, but there's not one thing that you point to other than sort of aggressiveness, motor and intangibles that you check off and say it's elite," Ford said. "If he's a 2, he's a little bit undersized. If he's a point guard, he's not like a Jason Kidd-esque passer. Suggs is a guy who I can absolutely see as a culture fit. But don't expect him to be a 25-point scorer. I don't think that's what he is at the next level."
Despite seizing college basketball's biggest stage and bringing an infectious swagger, Suggs lacks Mobley's unique size and versatility. He doesn't have Cunningham's complete game and smooth stroke. Isn't the same level athlete as Green.
In a few days, the chatter will quell, and Suggs' dream will come true. But if Detroit -- owners of the No. 1 pick -- Houston and Cleveland don't take him, that chip on his shoulder will get even bigger.
Competing is in his blood.
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