At the beginning of each new year, Phenom Hoops works to assemble a series of articles centered around unsigned seniorprospects. Last season, over one hundred players from North Carolina went on to play at the Division I, II, III or NAIA levels, and that number looks likely to continue increasing with the current senior class. Typically, we take a closer look at guys who are overlooked and underrated, and today's edition will highlight Tharius Suggs of Middle Creek.
We've seen Suggs numerous times, including Miles Masercola's trip out to Middle Creek, where he stated, 'Suggs is a two-sport star at Middle Creek and is part of a young core along with Sam Perez, Quincy Pugh, and many others that should carry Middle Creek the next couple of seasons. Suggs might be the most talented and productive of the group due to his level of competing on every single possession. From watching this team in Summer ball it's clear that Suggs has the keys and will be the feature guard for this young group. He's an incredible athlete in every sense of the word, displaying strength and quickness that most kids his age would only dream of having, and he's worked on his jumper in a major way which should translate to the court this season where he should see much-improved efficiency now that he already has a season of varsity basketball under his belt.' Which was later followed by, 'It's easy to find productive players within this Hoop Wall Street roster, especially when Suggs is on the floor. He's great in transition, but also understands how to find scoring opportunities as a cutter. Suggs provides great length, toughness, and shows a willingness to make the hustle plays on both ends of the floor. His game isn't necessarily flashy, but it's certainly effective.'
Since then, Suggs has only continued to show extended flashes of dominance on the hardwood. He's a smart, long, versatile two-way wing prospect with the ability to play bigger than his size and defend multiple positions. Suggs is excellent at getting downhill and making plays as a penetrator, but also shoots the ball at a reliable clip. He's an above-average scorer from all levels with the ability to consistently get others involved and overwhelm his assignment defensively. Suggs displays terrific anticipation on defense and does a great job of forcing turnovers by jumping into passing lanes or harassing opposing ball-handlers. His nightly averages of 22.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.8 APG, and 4.4 SPG with shooting splits of 48/37/67 simply speak for themselves. Given his body of work and current all-around abilities, college coaches should be prioritizing Suggs over the coming months.
