Jalen Suggs didn't return to the Twin Cities this week for a basketball game. He returned for two.
One of them he attended Thursday, when he was honored at Minnehaha Academy during a boys basketball game against Blake. Suggs led Minnehaha Academy to three Class 2A championships in a row and didn't get to play for a fourth because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The other game on the schedule for Suggs is Friday night's Orlando Magic matchup against the Timberwolves at Target Center. Suggs is a guard for the Magic.
Minnehaha Academy retired four jerseys and one jersey number in Suggs' honor. He wore No. 1 in basketball and also wore No. 1 for SMB Wolfpack, a football co-op that includes Minnehaha Academy. Suggs, a quarterback and defensive back, helped the Wolfpack win the Class 4A state title in 2018 and reach the final in 2019.
The school retired Suggs' home and away jerseys from football and basketball. That way there were plenty to go around.
"He gets two, we keep two," Minnehaha Academy activities director Josh Thurow said. "As long as Minnehaha Academy is around, those jerseys will hang."
Suggs spoke to the crowd, which included Chet Holmgren, like Suggs a first-round NBA draft pick who played for the Redhawks.
"This is a minute portion of everybody who helped me get to this point," Suggs said, gesturing to a crowd around him that included parents Molly Manley and Larry Suggs, past teammates and representatives of the Magic. "Before I start getting emotional, just thank you to everybody in this arena right now."
Suggs also spoke to reporters, a group ranging from familiar local television faces to the beat reporter for the Orlando Sentinel.
"Lot of great memories in this gym, a lot of great games, practices," he said. " ... This night is above all of them."
The Magic made Suggs the fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft. His 2022-23 season has been interrupted by injuries that have limited him to 28 games. He is eighth on the team in minutes per game this season (22.8) and ninth in points (9.1).
That'll matter more Friday night. Thursday was be-true-to-your-school night for Suggs and an evening of hero worship for fans.
"All of the people who have loved Jalen since elementary school were there," Thurow said. "Everybody loves him.
"The best part was for three straight hours that guy took every photo, signed every autograph and shook every hand of everybody who approached him. That's a tribute to him and his parenting."
More is ahead for Minnehaha Academy and its graduates. A night for Holmgren, who was drafted second overall in 2022 by the Oklahoma City Thunder, is in the future.
"That's another great Redhawk we look forward to honoring soon," Thurow said.
