SAN FRANCISCO — There aren’t many people who know Chet Holmgren better outside of his family than Larry Suggs, the father of Jalen Suggs.
“It’s been amazing. From a long gangly kid in third grade to be running so gracefully down the court and making moves and finishing with his left hand, it’s been a sight to see,” Suggs said.
Suggs coached Holmgren from grade school on. His transformation is apparent on the floor, but Suggs said he’s most proud of his transformation off the court this year.
“One thing that I like that Chet is doing this year is his leadership," Suggs said. "That was one thing that we talked about building upon, and you can see his growth through every game. I think he’ll be able to help lead the team to a title here coming in the next few weeks."
Suggs credits Holmgrens’s growth on that front to two other players who are also contributing significantly to the Zags’ potential title run.
“I’ve seen him come out (of his shell) a lot. I told him to lean on Drew Timme and Andrew Nembhard," Suggs explained. "Those guys are older, and they’ve had all the experience, so any time you need to bounce a question off of them, those guys will be able to help you. As far as his growth on and off the court, I think it comes from the leadership of those two."
Holmgren also learned from a great leader growing up in Suggs' son, Jalen. Having Holmgren win something his son got so tantalizingly close to last year would be special in the entire Suggs family.
“It would mean a lot to Jalen if Chet was able to win the NCAA championship. Coming from our program from where we started basically out of our garage with seven kids to come all the way to this level and possibly have two back-to-back top-five draft picks, that would be pretty incredible," Suggs said. "Me and Jalen are really rooting for him."
And that means more GU games could be in Suggs' future, provided more wins are in Gonzaga’s.
“We’re definitely planning on traveling a lot with the Zags," he said. "Once you’re a Zag, you’re a Zag for life, so hopefully, we make it down to Louisiana, and we see everybody down in the Super Dome."