Q&A with graduate guard Ronnie Suggs Jr.

Ronnie Suggs Jr. has been the unsung hero of the 2020 Salukis. He has started all 25 games he has played in and often draws the top defensive assignment on an SIU defense that ranks among the nation's scoring defense leaders. We sat down to talk to him about growing up in St. Louis, playing against SIU when he was at Bradley, the SIU swimming and diving team's "Saluki Strip," the growth of the team over the course of the season, and more.

Background

We moved around a little when I was a kid but have been living in St. Louis since I was 8. My dad worked for Nestle Purina for 18 years, and now he is a business sales consultant for Volpi and Italian Meat Company in St. Louis. My mom wrote books and hosted a TV show in St. Louis for 12-13 years. She met Oprah and went on the show to talk about her books. She decided she wanted to go into teaching. She has earned her master's and will be an assistant principle at Rockwood South Middle School next year. I have big shoes to fill. I have two older brothers; one played basketball at Washington and the other played football at Northern Iowa. My little brother runs track at Mizzou.

What was the recruiting process like out of high school?

I at first committed to Mizzou when Frank Haith was the coach. When he left, I re-opened my recruitment. Bradley had a new coach and a lot of older players that were graduating, so there was an opportunity to play right away.

When you left Bradley to walk-on at Mizzou, what was that like?

It was tough at first, honestly. I was recruited out of high school on a full-ride scholarship. Then I was a walk-on with a completely different coaching staff. But it made me work harder. It made me want to prove myself. Coach told me that if I worked hard, the opportunity to earn a scholarship would be there, and I took that challenge. I had always wanted to play for Missouri as a kid growing up. To be able to work hard and earn a scholarship at a place that I loved was special.

Did you know anything about SIU out of high school, and what were your impressions about SIU when you were at Bradley?

I was recruited out of high school by SIU, but I had a better chance to play right away at Bradley. SIU had some established upperclassmen. But I had known about SIU for quite a while because they had also recruited by older brother, Scott. I knew about SIU making the run to the Sweet Sixteen. At Bradley, I have two memories of SIU. My biggest memory was my freshman year when we played SIU in Peoria. I ended up playing point guard, and we won the game. It was my big break, and I played point guard the rest of the year. The other story is from the game at the Banterra Center. The only thing I remember is the swim team. I'm not the type of person who is easily distracted. I'm pretty good about ignoring the crowd. But I can't lie. When I was shooting free throws, I was not expecting the swim team to strip and start jumping up and down. It got me to look. And if you can get a free throw shooter to move his eyes, you've got him. I missed the free throw. I'll never forget it.

Why did you choose to come to SIU as a grad transfer?

I felt like I wanted to make a bigger impact on a team. I'll be honest, I didn't have high expectations at the time. But when I sat down with Coach Mullins, and I saw how smart he was, and how he sees the game, it opened my eyes. He had been quiet during the first part of my visit. I was trying to get a read on him. But when he showed me how my highlights could translate into his offense, I was pretty much sold right then and there.

What did you expect this year, and what has been the reality?

I expected us to have a rough patch early on because we didn't have many returning guys. As time goes on, I'm glad we were able to figure things out. I'm trying to help be a leader on and off the court. I want to be available to anyone, whether that's about the game, about life, about schoolwork and how you balance it. I've been at three different schools, so I have seen a lot of different coaching styles and how to deal with it.

How have you seen this team grow?

In the preseason, you're doing a lot of individual work and scrimmaging yourself. Once we started playing other people, we learned how to deal with different situations. Then, everyone started learning their role. Towards the end of the nonconference, we started to click, and everyone started getting confidence.

What do you want to do after basketball is over?

I would love to do radio/television broadcasting. My brothers used to call me 'stats' because I knew everyone's stats. They would ask me what Kobe Bryant averaged in 2005-06, and I knew it was 35 points. I always had a knack for it, and I think that I would be happy being able to stay in the game somehow.

Any special talents?

I can skateboard. If someone has a longboard, I can do something with that.

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