McKendree University Athletics

George Suggs joined the McKendree University men's basketball staff in the summer of 2018. After serving for two seasons as the Bearcats' graduate assistant coach, Suggs moved into the full-time role of assistant coach in the summer of 2020 and was named the program's 26th head coach on March 23, 2021. 

In his first season as the Bearcats head coach in 2021-22, Suggs led McKendree to a 14-12 overall record and 9-11 mark in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Additionally, the program made history as it won its first-ever GLVC Tournament game with a 77-40 home win over Quincy in the first round. The .538 winning percentage in 2021-22 was the best in the school's Division II era.

Suggs was named the HoopDirt Division II Men's Basketball Coach of the Month for January 2022 and Bryson Bultman was named a First-Team All-GLVC selection and a Second-Team All-Region selection after leading the league in scoring at 19.9 points per game. 

In his two seasons as a graduate assistant, Suggs had a hand in helping the McKendree program grow into a contender for a Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament berth. In 2019-20, the Bearcats established new marks in their NCAA Division II era for season victories with 15 as well as conference wins with 10. McKendree knocked off three ranked opponents during the year and posted their first winning season since joining the GLVC in 2012-13. 

A front-court player himself, Suggs played an important role in the development of freshman Bryson Bultman, who earned GLVC Freshman of the Year accolades in 2019-20. Bultman became the first McKendree player to win the honor. 
 
Suggs is certainly no stranger to the Great Lakes Valley Conference, where he was a four-year performer at Bellarmine University. Suggs is a member of the Knights’ 1,000-point club and was a first-team All-GLVC performer and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2015-16.
 
A native of St. Louis, Suggs starred at Vianney High School, where he averaged nearly 12 points and seven rebounds as a senior in helping the Golden Griffins to a top 25 national ranking in USA Today. Suggs then moved on to Bellarmine, where he was a starter in each of his final three seasons with the Knights.
 
Over his four seasons at Bellarmine, Suggs netted 1,059 points while playing in 127 games. A 6-foot-10 forward, Suggs showed his prowess from long range, connecting on 43 percent of his three-point attempts in his career. He was also solid from the free throw line for the Knights, hitting 77.4 percent of his tries from the charity stripe.
 
As a senior in 2015-16, Suggs led the GLVC in blocks with 55 and was fifth in the league in both free throw percentage (86.5 percent) and three-point field goal percentage (45.7 percent). He was part of four Bellarmine squads that reached the NCAA Division II Tournament, including a run to the national semifinals during his junior year in 2014-15.
 
Suggs graduated from Bellarmine in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in communications, and earned his Master's degree from McKendree in 2020. He was also a member of the Dean’s List while at Bellarmine.