McKendree University men’s basketball coach Chris Foster announced recently that George Suggs has been promoted to the position of assistant coach for the Bearcats. Suggs has served as the program’s graduate assistant coach for the past two seasons.

“We are very fortunate to be able to promote Coach Suggs to our full-time coaching position,” said Foster. “He has been a big part of the transformation of our program the last two years as our graduate assistant. I’m excited that he is able to take this step in his coaching career with McKendree. His basketball knowledge and local recruiting ties will continue to help us build McKendree basketball into a championship program.”
 
Over his two seasons at McKendree, Suggs has been part of a resurgence in the Bearcats’ program. In 2019-20, McKendree enjoyed perhaps its most successful season since joining the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Bearcats posted their first winning record in NCAA Division II play at 15-13. McKendree also registered a 10-10 ledger in GLVC play, establishing a new team mark for most conference victories since becoming league members in 2012-13. Three of those victories last season came against ranked teams, all of which came at home.
 
“I am very grateful for the opportunity to continue coaching here at McKendree,” said Suggs. “I have learned a great deal from Coach Foster in these last two years and I’m thrilled that he has given me this chance to continue as part of the Bearcats’ staff. The relationships I have with our players and the greater McKendree community make this an ideal place for me as a coach. There is a bright future for this program and I am excited to be a part of it.”
 
Suggs, who was a front-court player during his collegiate career, played a pivotal role in the development of one of the top young players in the GLVC in 2019-20. Bryson Bultman (Nashville, IL/Nashville) started all 28 games for the Bearcats and posted averages of 9.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest while shooting nearly 52 percent from the field and better than 79 percent from the free throw line. For his efforts, Bultman was selected as the GLVC Freshman of the Year, becoming the first McKendree player to win the honor.
 
Suggs is a familiar face in the GLVC. Along with his time on the McKendree coaching staff, Suggs spent his four-year playing career at Bellarmine University. A starter in each of his final three seasons with the Knights, Suggs scored 1,059 career points in 127 games. He joined the Bellarmine 1,000-point club while displaying a shooter’s touch, connecting on 43 percent of his three-point field goal attempts along with posting a 77.4 percent career mark at the free throw line. As a senior, Suggs earned first-team All-GLVC honors while collecting the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
 
At Bellarmine, Suggs was part of four NCAA Division II Tournament squads, including a Knights’ team that made a run to the national semifinals in his junior season of 2014-15.
 
Before Suggs’ time at Bellarmine, the St. Louis native starred at Vianney High School, where he posted 12 points and seven rebounds per game as a senior. Suggs helped the Golden Griffins to a USA Today top 25 national ranking during that season.