Washington Huskies Basketball: 2012-2013 Scott Suggs Evaluation

Mar 3, 2013, Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies guard Scott Suggs (15) reacts after making his fifth three-pointer of the game against the Washington State Cougars during the second half at Alaska Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Statistics: 30.8 minutes, 12.2 points (42.4 FG percentage, 38.7 3-point), 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists

What He Did In 2012-2013: Coming into his senior season, Scott Suggs had never been a major contributor on a team. He was expected to join Tony Wroten and Terrence Ross to form a Pac-12 winning, Final Four-reaching trio in 2011-2012, but broke his foot before the season started.

With Wroten and Ross departed, it was up to Suggs and C.J. Wilcox to lead the 2012-2013 squad. Unfortunately for Suggs, the injury bug bit him again early in the season, causing him to miss three non-conference games. Some accredit the losses to Albany and Colorado State to the absence of Suggs. When he was in the lineup, Suggs did well. He had improved each of the past three seasons and the trend continued into his fourth. Everything went up, other than his shooting percentage. With the increase in minutes from 18 to 30, if Suggs had continued to shoot at a 48.5 percent clip from the field, he would have averaged close to 20 points per game, but the rate dropped to 42.4. Even with that decrease, Suggs was a constant contributor on offense. He finished his career at UW on a strong point, averaging 18 points per game in the last six regular season and Pac-12 tournament games. The former Missouri “Mr. Basketball” may have run into some injury problems, but you wouldn’t know it while watching him play.

What To Expect In 2012-2013: Suggs is one of four players that won’t be returning to UW, joining Aziz N’Diaye and Abdul Gaddy in graduating, while Martin Breunig will transfer. Unlike Gaddy and N’Diaye, Suggs was not invited to the Portsmouth Invitational, so he was not able to showcase his skills in front of NBA general managers. Even so, he should at least get a look in Europe as a tall sharpshooter. His softer style of game seems to fit the Euro League best, anyways.

On Montlake, the Huskies will turn to JUCO transfer, Mike Anderson to fill Suggs’ spot. They have incredibly similar profiles as 6’5”-6’6” wing players that can drain it from deep. Anderson already has two years of collegiate experience under his belt and hopefully will be able to start where Suggs left off. Even if Anderson doesn’t pan out next season, UW has options in the backcourt. It would have to go small, but that hasn’t been an obstacle before, and it was oftentimes when the Huskies have had the most success.