NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Minnesota of last decade
By Joey Loose
3. Jalen Suggs – Gonzaga
This 6’4 guard from West St. Paul spent just a single season in the college game but it’s fair to say it was a legendary season from beginning to end. Suggs was a 5-star prospect who headed west to Gonzaga, starring at guard for the Bulldogs during a historic season.
Suggs averaged 14.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game across a productive freshman campaign. He had a 27-point performance in an early win against Iowa, and his fantastic play helped Gonzaga win their first 29 games of the season. His legend was written with a buzzer-beating game-winning shot over UCLA in the Final Four to preserve their perfect season, though Baylor would end it in the title game two days later, though Suggs did have a team-high 22 points.
The WCC Rookie of the Year was also a Second Team All-American and hit what remains the most recent NCAA Tournament buzzer beater, concluding one of the greatest college basketball games of all time. He was First Team All-WCC and led the conference in steals, having just a fantastic season at Gonzaga, living up to his billing as a top-rated prospect. Suggs was off to the NBA after that season and was taken with the 5th pick of the draft by the Orlando Magic.