Five-star Minnehaha Academy point guard Jalen Suggs suffered a right knee injury landing awkwardly during an AAU game last week in Las Vegas, but it turns out he won't be out for long.
Suggs, who is also a high-profile quarterback prospect, had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) done Tuesday that revealed a bone bruise. So he's only sidelined for five weeks, according to his father, Larry Suggs.
Suggs is likely to miss Minnehaha Academy's football opener Aug. 31, but he's expecting to be back on the field for the remainder of the season."I think he'll be fine," Larry Suggs said. "He's a tough kid, so I think he'll recover quick."
There has been every indication this summer that he's taking the possibility of playing two sports in college seriously.
"I'm just treating them equally right now and getting ready to talk to football coaches in a bit," Suggs said. "Once that comes it will start to get a little bit hectic with basketball and football coaches all on the phone. But I actually really have fun with the process. I take every conversation to learn and build relationships. Having fun with both sports right now and we'll see in the future."
Last season on the gridiron, the 6-foot-5, 195-pound Suggs had over 1,500 yards and 25 touchdowns passing and rushing combined to help lead his team to the Minnesota Class 2A state playoffs. Minnesota, Iowa and Ohio State are among the schools offering him scholarships in football and basketball.
On the court, Suggs dazzled during his sophomore season while leading Minnehaha to its second straight state basketball title. He carried that success over to the spring and summer.
Playing for Grassroots Sizzle's AAU basketball team in the Under Armour Circuit, Suggs continued to solidify himself as one of the top players in the 2020 class this summer. He also won his second gold medal with the U.S. junior national team, this time in the U17 World Cup in Argentina.
In the fall, Suggs, who was invited to the Chris Paul and Steph Curry skills camps for guards this summer,.hopes to take unofficial visits to Duke, Kansas and North Carolina.
He was followed closely by several blue-blood programs during the July live recruiting period, but Minnesota coach Richard Pitino and his staff attended Suggs' games consistently as well.
Pitino and Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck, who opens camp this week, have made Suggs a priority.
"I've talked to Coach Pitino and Coach Fleck about the possibilities of doing both football and basketball," he said. "And how they would work with me. And how they would respect my decision if I play football there or basketball if that would be the case. Just being able to get an offer for both sports definitely shows how interested they are in me."
