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Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs suffered what appeared to be a serious left lower leg injury after slipping on the court versus No. 11 West Virginia in the Jimmy V Classic on Wednesday but eventually returned as the top-ranked Bulldogs pulled out the 87-82 win.
Suggs, who is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2021 NBA draft, was in visible pain on the floor following the play and immediately left the game for the locker room. The replays showed the freshman may have hurt his Achilles but the team ruled it a left ankle sprain.
The 19-year-old was then seen in the second half warming up in a tunnel attempting to return and, a few minutes later, was inserted back into the game after getting medically cleared. He finished with four points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in 26 minutes.
Jalen Suggs non-contact injury, doesn’t look good pic.twitter.com/aDmKfeyYgi
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) December 3, 2020
Afterward, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said Suggs convinced him enough to go back into the game. Few told Suggs that if he was limping, he would take him out but Suggs stopped limping and finished out the game for the Bulldogs, according to Alyssa Charlston of 4 News Now.
Mark Few said postgame he didn’t want Jalen Suggs to go back in, but he was convincing. Also told him if he was limping, he’d pull him.
So, Few was thinking what everyone watching was feeling.
— Alyssa Charlston (@Alyssacharlston) December 3, 2020
Suggs boasts an impressive skillset on both ends of the floor that will likely see him taken in the first round next year. He has the potential to be perhaps the top freshman in the country this year given his athleticism and playmaking on offense.
Gonzaga plays next on Saturday vs. No. 2 Baylor.
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