SPOKANE, Wash. — When National Signing Day began Wednesday morning, nobody knew if that would be the day Jalen Suggs put pen to paper for the Zags.
At about 10 a.m., Gonzaga fans got their answer.
"It’s been a real good day. I couldn’t stop smiling at first. Again, I’m just really ecstatic," Jalen Suggs told KREM 2 on Wednesday night. "Just seeing it go public, that picture and everything, it felt really good. Next time we have college basketball I’m going to be in a jersey playing in The Kennel."
Why are fans so abuzz about Jalen?
To start with, he's the highest rated recruit to ever commit to Gonzaga.
"It just really showed me again, it’s something I already knew, just how loyal and how loving the people of Spokane are," Suggs said of Gonzaga fans reaching out to him after his official commitment. "Just the day they started recruiting me, I’ve seen nothing but love through out the internet from them (the fans). For a lot of places it’s just because they want to get you to the school. From them, you can tell it’s genuine. Whichever route I was planning on taking, a lot of them it was just straight support. They wanted the best for me. Now that I’ve been officially signed, I just see everybody saying, ‘Thank you, you made my day. I was on eggshells just waiting to see if you are going to sign or not.’ Again, to give them that reassurance, it’s good for me. It makes me happy."
Even though he has signed his National Letter of Intent, some people are wondering if Jalen is still entertaining offers from overseas or in the G-League.
He has a message for them.
"Gonzaga is my focus. Going down to Spokane is my focus. Winning a national championship is my focus. That stuff is all kind of put to the side right now. Especially right now, I want to be laser focused on that one thing and my future," he said.
That future could feature a trophy, as next year’s iteration of the Zags has been ranked #1 in nearly every preseason poll.
"I love that. I love that," said the point guard with a big smile. "Now everybody’s looking at us. We have a target on our back. For me, I love being like that because I know we’re going to get everybody’s best game. When we beat you, you don’t have any excuses. I know everybody’s locked in next year. I’ve talked to pretty much everybody on the team and everybody’s ready to win and do whatever it takes to win," he said.
And about that national championship?
"I want it so bad. Man, they’ve come so close so many times. Couple of times they’ve been just that play away. Coming in next year I know that’s our time. We have everything we need," Suggs said.
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