NCAA Basketball Recruiting: 4 teams emerge as leaders for 5-star Jalen Suggs
Jalen Suggs is busy trying to make Team USA’s U19 squad but still had time to discuss where he is at in his NCAA Basketball recruitment.
Two-sport star Jalen Suggs is nowhere near making a decision of where he is going to college next year, or for that matter which sport he will play. However, a trio of NCAA Basketball teams has emerged as the favorites to obtain his services, according to Jacob Polacheck of ZAGSBLOG.
Suggs has not trimmed down his recruiting list —he currently has over 20 scholarship offers— but told Polacheck that Gonzaga, Minnesota, and Marquette have taken the lead in his recruitment. The 6-5 combo guard added that Michigan is becoming a real possibility as he has talked to coach Juwan Howard a lot lately. Iowa and Iowa State have been recruiting him since the seventh grade and remain in the mix.
He has already been to Gonzaga on an unofficial visit (Feb. 9) and is planning to take an official visit to Spokane in the near future.
Suggs, who made it through the first cuts of USA U19 Basketball training camp, is a consensus 2020 top 16 basketball prospect. 247Sports, 247Sports Composite and ESPN have the Minneapolis (MN) native ranked either 11th or 12th while Rivals has him slated at No. 16. He is also a four-star football recruit and is considering playing both sports in college.
"“Right now, I’m just focusing on improving my game in both, putting myself in the best position so that when the time comes, which is coming pretty soon, I can put myself in the best position to make that decision, whether it be football or basketball.It’s a possibility. I’ve talked to schools about it. It’s not easy, especially with how close the seasons are and how they overlap. Then, to manage school on top of that, with two sports and school. But we’ll see. It’s definitely not ruled out.”"
The 18-year-old averaged 23.3 points, 6.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.7 steal as a junior last season for Minnehaha Academy. He is in the process of making his third Team USA squad after making the U16 and U17 teams the previous two years.
It appears that Suggs is going to take his time with his decision. So, expect several updates on his recruitment and possibly a few lists of his college choices before he announces his ultimate choice.
Walker Kessler plans to take an official visit to Gonzaga
Top-20 consensus 2020 recruit Walker Kessler will make an official visit to Gonzaga, although there is no date set yet, per Jacob Polacheck of ZAGSBLOG. Gonzaga head coach Mark Few along with Michigan’s head coach Juwan Howard and assistant Phil Martelli as well as UNC assistant Hubert Davis and Duke assistant Jon Scheyer were on hand to watch the 6-11 center at the USA U19 team training camp this past Monday.
Kessler told Polacheck that his trip to Spokane (Wash.) will likely not be his only official visit.
"“I’m probably going to take an official to UNC and probably another to Duke and Michigan.”"
A lot of teams are still in the mix for Kessler and it doesn’t seem that he is anywhere close to making a decision. He also has taken official visits to Vanderbilt (Sept. 21), Michigan (Nov. 2), Virginia (Jan. 4) and Duke (Feb. 1).
JUCO wing DeVale Johnson picks Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Rams picked up their fifth member of the 2019 recruiting class after receiving a commitment from junior college transfer DeVale Johnson. The 6-7 wing chose Rhode Island over St. John’s, St. Joe’s and Albany.
“I chose Rhode Island because on my visit it felt like home and it was a tight-knit family environment,” Johnson told Adam Zagoria of ZAGSBLOG. “The entire staff was great. It’s the best place to help me develop and become not only a better player but a better student and man.”
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Johnson joins junior college transfer Jeremy Carter-Shepard, three-plus star wing Mekhi Long, three-star shooting guard Gregory Hammond and 6-7 wing Jacob Toppin as the members of the Rams recruiting class.