These plays embody who Jalen Suggs is: a tough-nosed leader who does whatever his team needs him to do to win games.

Suggs isn’t a perfect player by any means, but he’s as competitive as they come and a true difference maker from the PG position.



Right out of the gate, he made his presence known to the collegiate landscape by finishing off an alley-oop against a then top projected Kansas squad.

That’s how he STARTED. And you already saw some of how he ended his brief career at Gonzaga.

Hailing from Minnesota, Suggs was not only a top basketball recruit but also a formidable QB prospect in his own right. And those athletic and mental traits showed all over the floor during his time with the Bulldogs.

Before he played a minute this year the evaluation on him questioned just how much of a PG he actually is, or if he’s more of a combo better suited playing off the ball next to more of a true floor general.



Coach Mark Few must’ve found out the answer to that question pretty quick, and likely took some of that QB inspiration from his decision making, as Suggs was handed the keys early on and never let go of his position. And it didn’t take long for him to establish himself as a good passer with feel and touch in different scenarios, including pick-and-roll.

Obviously his old QB skills were on display in the forward bounce pass against UCLA, but even here he delivers a cross court dime with ease to the open corner shooter.

With that feed as well as the pocket pass to the slipping roll man, its clear that Suggs’ comfort level making plays for others is as high as his assurance to himself that he can get it going scoring the basketball.

Go and watch more of the Gonzaga tape, and you’ll find plenty of evidence that Suggs is capable of executing half court sets and playing well within practiced concepts.



Even in early offense, he’s an intriguing weapon because of something I wish I’d seen more of from him and that’s his ability to change speeds and start/stop on a dime.

The best part of this action is how he immediately gets the ball up the floor after the Kansas score, and doesn’t waste time reading where he can break into the defense. When he penetrates and forces the collapse, he comes to a stop on a moment’s notice and slips that pass right in there to the big man.

Being able to change speeds and manipulate defenses in that manner isn’t often seen from the majority of college point guards. The special ones who show signs of mastering that skill down the road are generally the playmakers who elevate up draft boards. Suggs is no exception to the rule.

Of course, he’s obviously a hand full when he’s attacking at warp speed too.

As dangerous as he can be in the half court making plays for others, it’s what he can do on the break that really energizes his teammates around him and puts fear into the eyes of opposing defenses.

Now I want to point out this play for a couple of reasons. One, it highlights his quick hands on defense and his scrappiness going against top-level guard matchups (more on that later), but two this read is something that Suggs wouldn’t have looked to act on earlier in the year. Not only was he aggressive in getting the ball down the floor and applying pressure, but he came to a more appropriate stop and dished the ball behind him to the trailer for the easy layup.



Here’s an example of what one of these attempts looked like before he had his legs further under him as a decision maker.

See the difference? Instead of crashing head first into one or multiple defenders as he did here, Suggs choosing to alter speeds, take a better angled approach and dish to the open teammate allowed his guys to put points on the board versus walk away empty handed.

Even on the turnover, had Suggs taken a more mature approach and seen the court better in that split second, he could’ve recognized he had the trailing Corey Kispert wide open for 3 on the trail. And America knows how lethal of a shooter Kispert is when he has nothing but time.

That evolution from the start of the year to later in the season is something I like to take notice of from prospects when I evaluate them. It’s important during the scouting process to get a feel on who the player is from the beginning, then check in about midway through and then see exactly what’s changed toward the end. If there have been noticeable improvements or changes in their game, those are examples of hard work and determination that exemplify leadership, which Suggs has in spades.

But leadership by example comes from making the right decisions, not necessarily playing all out 100% of the time. While Suggs has more to his game than just being able to make an open read or run up and down the floor, noticing this flaw in his game is crucial to his development moving forward.

The main knocks on Suggs are that he doesn’t have the tightest of handles when he looks to create in tight windows, and he has a knack for charging in at top speed and drawing the charge, leading to foul trouble and him sitting on the bench.

Coaches will take note of both of those in the NBA and point to them as things to work on. While I wouldn’t ever expect Suggs to have a spectacular handle like some of the best guards in the league, he can certainly tighten it up a bit and have better control when he makes a move off the bounce versus leaving it high and away from his body for easy turnover fodder.

Another few areas where I really want to see Suggs improve in are his outside shooting and movement off the ball.

We’ve laid out how he’s effective making things happen with the ball in his hands, but if he can become a more CONSISTENT threat off the ball, it adds multiple new layers to his game that makes him a tough cover for anyone on the other team.

Now I do have a few examples of positive results for both his shooting off a DHO as well as a cut off the ball for an easy deuce, but NBA teams will want to see more of both of these.

Biggest takeaway from both of these plays is how easy Suggs made them look because of his short burst as well as his verticality on the jumper. As long as he had the smallest window to line up his shot mechanics or find the hole in the defense, he was going to make something happen. And it’s clear that Suggs is so cat quick moving around the court that I wish there were a ton more examples of scoring off cuts similar to his teammates Joel Ayayi who was arguably one of the best cutters in all of college basketball.

One can argue that a lot of their offense was designed to have either Suggs or Andrew Nembhard running the show for obvious reasons. But there’s no guarantee Suggs will be an active PG from day one in the league and if he can display an off-ball skill set sooner rather than later, he’ll ensure he has the minutes heavy role his draft stock will command he have from the jump.

As for the deep shot off the move, I actually really like his mechanics as a shooter. The elevation on his shot, his hang time in the air and steady follow through all point to a make when his body is squared up at the basket. But when he doesn’t have that split second to make those adjustments and get himself set, he tended to rush his motion which led to some pretty bad misses throughout the year.

What can be frustrating at times is when a player displays a successful skill but can’t capitalize on it more consistently. Suggs just needs reps shooting in different scenarios. I’m fairly confident he can become a higher percentage 3P shooter on higher volume, so it will be about his next coaching staff working with him to stick to the fundamentals on his shot that he already has down even when the defense closes out hard on him.



There’s little to no reason why he won’t improve on his perimeter shooting, and look at how pretty his release is when he puts it all together.

That’s why he’s a big-time offensive talent.

I’ve talked enough about what he does offensively. In reality, Suggs sets the tone best on the defensive end which gets his guys out on the break for transition offense, where Gonzaga was most lethal this year.



It starts with the pressure he puts on his man from the time they cross half court. This level of attentiveness, foot work, hip movement and toughness all rolled together in one package is fascinating.

These are two prime examples of him swallowing up his man in a high -pressure game against UCLA. In both scenarios, he’s up against two trusted scorers, one being Johnny Juzang who was one of the hottest players all tournament long.

If it wasn’t for the bailout foul on the end of that defensive stand, Suggs would’ve won that battle against Juzang fairly easily. At no point did he let Juzang get a step on him, and made his life hell for more possessions than that one.

As for the baseline play against Tyer Campbell, even when Suggs was backed into a wall and had nowhere else to go, he found a way to funnel his man into an awkward situation and angled his hips to where Campbell was once again contained, leading to the wall up by Suggs and the pass out for the missed jumper.

And that ability to rotate, switch and funnel a matchup into a help defender or poor shot is incredibly important at the next level, where the vast majority of defense played is man-to-man. Here’s another example of a great funnel into help defense which had it not been for the foul could’ve absolutely been another won battle.

Trust me, not every guard in this draft class has this ability to guard both backcourt positions and leverage his energy and physicality against his matchup. But he doesn’t do it by only being in someone’s face and just giving effort. The technique and awareness Suggs layers into his defense is the icing on the cake, and something that shouldn’t be overlooked.



When it all comes together, it leads to easy transition offense like this.

While point guards aren’t always “expected” to be top notch defenders, and there are plenty of NBA examples of it, having someone who can hound an opposing player at the point of attack can do wonders for everyone else. With the lead guard spot being as crowded as it is nowadays with top-flight talents making their presence felt on a nightly basis, having a weapon like Suggs can at least help to somewhat even up the odds. Especially a weapon who takes pride in everything he does defensively.

Even the way he competes on the defensive glass is impressive. How many guards are fighting this hard for a rebound to get his team going?

Bottom line, Suggs competes his heart out on both ends of the floor and sets an example for everyone else to follow. He has all of the tools and skills to make a play when his team needs one the most, he’s clutch and he doesn’t back down. None of what I’m saying hasn’t been backed up here by film either. These are all truths and reasons why he should be valued as a high pick in this upcoming draft.

It seems unlikely at this point that a team would take him with the first overall pick. But if I were an NBA General Manger, I’d have a tough time sleeping at night if I willingly passed on him with that selection.

His development path is as intriguing as any in this class. Does he mold himself into a combo two-way weapon like Jrue Holiday, someone who can guard both backcourt positions, score when called upon but isn’t always the primary playmaker for his team?

Or does he continue to hone his passing craft that’s there from his days slinging the pigskin, and let his leadership and communicative traits ooze out as regularly in the NBA as they did at Gonzaga and take a Chris Paul-centric approach to bending and manipulating defenses while still picking and choosing his spots?

There’s a lot to Paul’s game that’s hard to replicate, but I wouldn’t put anything past a player like Suggs.