Jalen Suggs - Any Concerns

[jsnider]

The last two games for Gonzaga against Pepperdine and St. Mary's have not been as clean as what we have seen from them earlier against the tougher competition. That does not concern me a great deal. But Jalen Suggs has seemed unhappy, frustrated, and not himself the last couple of games and that does concern me some. I know in the Pepperdine game he got into some early foul trouble which could explain some of it but last night I noticed even more without the foul trouble. Has anybody picked up on it too and if so what do you make of it? Thank you.

[gonzagafan62]

Yes I mean I have but he brought the energy and style last night too with and ones. We all gotta remember as awesome as this kid is he’s still only a freshman. Lol. He’s going to make mistakes and not play well. It seems like Gonzaga usually does go through and end of January swoon with WCC teams and then goes back off in beginning of February and then swoon again in late february ... I think we’ll be fine and so will he. He’ll figure it out here in WCC. It’s rockfights or sit the bench.

[Irish_eliZAG]

I try not to worry about things I have no control over. He is still teenager with mood swings. Maybe he’s mad at referee, himself or even a teammate or coach. That’s for GU staff to figure out.

[23dpg]

I try not to worry about things I have no control over. He is still teenager with mood swings. Maybe he’s mad at referee, himself or even a teammate or coach. That’s for GU staff to figure out.

+1

[tummydoc]

I suspect Jalen holds himself to a higher standard than even this board. I think he's just frustrated with himself. I don't see any disrespect in his attitude. Fewie was probably telling him to be patient and let the game come to him. He's smart, humble for having been the alpha dog since middle school. He'll be fine.

[bartruff1]

IMHO he can do stuff that no other guard in the history of Gonzaga Basketball could do....this is his team and will go as far as he can take them.....as the pro scout said he will need to improve his three point shooting but will be among the first four or five taken in the draft and perhaps #!......he is simply amazing.....enjoy him while you can and be thankful he came to Gonzaga....I am...

[ZionZag]

The last two games for Gonzaga against Pepperdine and St. Mary's have not been as clean as what we have seen from them earlier against the tougher competition. That does not concern me a great deal. But Jalen Suggs has seemed unhappy, frustrated, and not himself the last couple of games and that does concern me some. I know in the Pepperdine game he got into some early foul trouble which could explain some of it but last night I noticed even more without the foul trouble. Has anybody picked up on it too and if so what do you make of it? Thank you.

He was just mad at himself...5 TO's and 2 Assis

[jazzdelmar]

He was just mad at himself...5 TO's and 2 Assis

And with good reason.

[ProVeeZag]

Worried about Suggs? Life must be pretty damn good if we can worry about Jalen. The kid's a monstah on the court. Not in the least worried about Suggs...

[bballbeachbum]

great to see him not going for the Captain Insano finish every time at the rim, his control at the rim 2nd half was strong I thought. The way he plays I wonder if he's dinged up a bit, and how much, and my only concern would be injuring himself

can't remember who said it on the game thread last night, but something like even when Jalen is not his best, he still shows he's a winner. that's not exactly what was shared, my paraphrase, but agree

[JPtheBeasta]

It’s as if the WCC refs have been trying to send a message that they don’t take kindly to one-and-dones around these parts.

In all seriousness, he’s getting some calls against him that an upperclassmen wouldn’t get, in my opinion. There have been some that were the result of him playing too aggressively but there were many that I did agree with at all.

[zagzilla]

Not worried at all.

He's clearly super competitive and shows his frustrations on his sleeve (figuratively). Recently, he has battled foul trouble, committed some turnovers of his own making-like the dribble off of his foot and out of bounds and gotten called for some charges because he is really aggressive going to the hoop. His outside shot hasn't been falling even when he has had some good looks. These "issues" are the good kind because he is taking the initiative and trying to make things happen.

In every game he has also made some special plays that only he can that show how high his ceiling is.

Foul trouble is no concern because we have 4 guards who play rotational minutes. I think he is unhappy when he gets taken out and has to watch Cook and Nembhard get minutes he covets.

Few and the staff need to harness his aggression and continue to help him make good decisions. All of this will culminate in how he does over (hopefully) 6 games in late-March, early-April. Anything before then is not a problem as long as he is learning and growing.

ZZ

[krozman]

It's one of those "how do you deal with failure" situations. My kids used to fail at whatever and you try and teach the "you're never a master until you've failed 1000 times" adage to them. Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's really really hard. If you withdraw into yourself when something doesn't go your way, you don't learn and you don't get better. If you smile and tell yourself "ok, we're playing THAT way eh? game on!" then you can take the situation as it is and you can adjust and improve immediately. Suggs's body language tells me he's withdrawing into himself and lets failure compound into more failure, reinforcing some form of false victimhood. Maybe i'm wrong.

[ZagsGoZags]

remember how crafty nigel w goss and delavadova were?
he will get there, probably until then be impatient with himself,
he is still rushing a lot, pushing a lot, crashing a lot, heedless sometimes,
not worried at all

[Kong-Kool-Aid]

He's a young kid who's highly competitive. Armchair psychology seems silly.

Maybe he was mad he burnt a batch of cookies?

Who knows?

Just as likely as the weird speculation going on here.

[HenneZag]

Im pretty certain most can figure where his frustration is coming from. He's a potential top 3 pick on the #1 team in the country with scouts watching on. Every play he makes or doesn't make he is thinking about, anyone can see that. This is the pressure that comes with the territory, have to work through it.

[FloridaZagFan]

I try not to worry about things I have no control over. He is still teenager with mood swings. Maybe he’s mad at referee, himself or even a teammate or coach. That’s for GU staff to figure out.

Well said Irish!

[allnet59]

Not worried at all.

He's clearly super competitive and shows his frustrations on his sleeve (figuratively). Recently, he has battled foul trouble, committed some turnovers of his own making-like the dribble off of his foot and out of bounds and gotten called for some charges because he is really aggressive going to the hoop. His outside shot hasn't been falling even when he has had some good looks. These "issues" are the good kind because he is taking the initiative and trying to make things happen.

In every game he has also made some special plays that only he can that show how high his ceiling is.

Foul trouble is no concern because we have 4 guards who play rotational minutes. I think he is unhappy when he gets taken out and has to watch Cook and Nembhard get minutes he covets.

Few and the staff need to harness his aggression and continue to help him make good decisions. All of this will culminate in how he does over (hopefully) 6 games in late-March, early-April. Anything before then is not a problem as long as he is learning and growing.

ZZ

Spot on!

[billyberu]

Suggs has hit the doldrums and has plateaued a bit. Expect a learning curve even in conference play.

My prediction: he breaks out in a few weeks and hits his stride. He's not a typical freshman and the cream always rises to the top.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[billyberu]

Worried about Suggs? Life must be pretty damn good if we can worry about Jalen. The kid's a monstah on the court. Not in the least worried about Suggs...

I said that in a Southy Boston accent. Is that what you intended?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[RenoZag]

He was THE stud on the court in HS. He's A stud on the court in college. Level of competition is higher. He'll be fine. He's making an adjustment from HS to college. I think the second half of his first year will be better than the first half.

The cool thing is GU won't live and die with his stats. The depth of the squad is pretty darn good. Cook & Nembhard have shown that. Ayayi & Corey are neck n' neck for GU MVP in my view.

Suggs doesn't have to be our alpha dog. He just needs to be our junkyard dog.

[WRHUradio]

I'm not worried at all either.

First off, his defense and effort always shows up. You never have to question that. He's going to guard the top guard of each opponent and help GU win.
He is the type where he is going to get points just via transition, steals and create offense with lead passes off defensive rebounds. If Suggs wasnt a 5-star talent, he'd still be an immense talent defensively to helping this team win.

Offensively, he does not force up shots or is a volume shooter, I can say he definitely plays within the system. He doesnt get points at the EXPENSE of the team or offense. How many 5-star stud freshman types do we say that about? Very very few.

My greatest concern would actually be his handle, for some reason his turnovers have been due to pokeaways.

I think his personality is that he is going to work and work behind the scenes on his shot, both from 3 and also mid-range and simplifying his attacks with less dribbling and keeping the ball moving..which is as much of a team trait as it is individual.

[izzjess]

I still think he is injured. I don't feel I've seen him be as aggressive or athletic since his injury. At least that's my two cents

Sent from my LG-H931 using Tapatalk

[cjm720]

I think the WCC has got to be frustrating for a lot of really good players that expect to dominate the lower perceived competition. WCC is well coached and a lot tougher than most assume. This is part of the learning curve.

[zagsfanforlife]

I still think he is injured. I don't feel I've seen him be as aggressive or athletic since his injury. At least that's my two cents

Sent from my LG-H931 using Tapatalk

You might be right. When was the last time we saw a throw down dunk by Suggs? We saw one about every game prior to the injury