It’s been quite a summer for three of the state’s top prep basketball players. One made a verbal commitment to play in college while two others led the USA to gold while establishing themselves among the nations’ top prospects.
Here is a quick recap of their accomplishments!
Tre Jones
Jones, the top-rated point guard in the nation who played for Howard Pulley during the summer, shocked no one when he announced last weekend that he would be attending Duke University as member of the Class of 2018.
The 6’-2” 171-pound senior, ranked number nine overall, chose Duke over Ohio State, UCLA, Southern California and Minnesota.
Averaging 23 points and 10 assists per game, he led Apple Valley to the 2017 Class 4A boys’ basketball championship with support from teammates Luke Martens and Mohamed Kone.
Jones also helped Apple Valley capture the 4A state title in 2015, teaming with incoming Duke freshman Gary Trent Jr.
Paige Bueckers
Bueckers, who is on ESPNW’s class of 2020 watch list, recently helped the USA Basketball Women’s Under-16 National Team earn a gold medal this summer.
The 5’-10” sophomore averaged 21.6 points, teaming with Reana Suggs, Dee Dee Winston, Dlayla Chakolis and Angie Hammond to lead Hopkins to a runner-up finish in the Class 4A girls’ basketball state tournament last March.
She was a first team All-Metro selection as a freshman and started six games for the Royals as an eighth grader.
Jalen Suggs
Suggs, the top-ranked point guard for the class of 2020, recently helped the International Basketball Federation’s U.S. National Under-16 Team win a gold medal this past June.
The 6’-3” 185-pound sophomore is ranked number three overall in the class of 2020 and already has scholarship offers from numerous Division I schools including Iowa, Iowa State, Creighton, Baylor, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Clemson, as the list keeps growing.
He averaged 21.5 points per game in teaming with Lorenzo Smith, Kaden Johnson, Javonni Bickham and Jose Williamson to lead Minnehaha Academy to the Class 2A boys’ basketball state championship during his freshman season.
Not a bad summer for these three stars!
Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader responses to mmcdonald@spokesman-recorder.com.
Support Black local news
Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.
Bueckers is rated 3rd in the 2020 class by Prospects Nation, and I believe that is low.