Patrick Suemnick’s Route Through Recruiting Madness
Madison, WI — Patrick Suemnick walks off the Kohl Center floor, head-down, a sulky gait. Denmark’s semifinal loss in the 2018-19 State Tournament was fresh in his mind, soured by the looming thought: his basketball career may be over.
The locker room is an emotional scene. Fatigue from an unrelenting season and, for many, a nearly 18-year journey from Little Tikes hoops to Wisconsin’s biggest stage is all culminating, finally boiling over. Suemnick feels it. At this point, his recruitment has been anticlimactic. Avenues to a division three school or JUCO round out a kiddie-pool of choices, and the ever-elusive division one offer isn’t in the cards. The silence is swiftly interrupted by a flurry of dings and vibrations from Suemnick’s duffel bag. He “angrily” digs around clumped up gear to find his phone. Missed call notifications and texts from unknown numbers flash across the screen.
It was ten messages from division two coaches, many offering a scholarship.
Those offers would reaffirm other school’s interest. Quickly more and more offers were tossed on the table.
But, his turning point came at the most unlikely time. Suemnick had nabbed an offer from North West Missouri State — who finished 38-0 last season as the Division Two National Champions. But lingering division one schools had all but used up their scholarships, and any hope of grabbing an offer was past due. Still, though, his mind was made up. “I decided division one was my only option and I wouldn’t cheat myself,” said Suenmick. “If I can play at the best division two who beat division one schools by 20, I can definitely play division one.”
Suemnick’s new goals were predicated on a finding the long-term fit for college, even if it took another full year of developing. So, on June 25th, 3 months and 11 days after playing his final high school game, Suenmick committed to Don Bosco Prep on scholarship.
The prep option is the road less traveled, but for those serious about the sport, it’s an invaluable pathway. Prep schools like Don Bosco can freeze things, in a sense. It allows you to strap another year of development to your belt while playing a slate of games against other elite college programs (in this case, the ones that recruited Suemnick) without exercising a year of eligibility. That proved to be a perfect segue for Suemnick, who aspires to have a professional tenure overseas.
It’s no secret that the Prep route is unorthodox. But, the whole spiel I hear hits hard on one thing. You have to want it. The ticket through that pathway is an unrelenting love for the sport, and a serious goal to play professionally someday. “Prep is a gamble,” Suemnick described to me. “Nothing is guaranteed and there are people who come out of it with absolutely nothing.”
“The difference is,” Suemnick told me, “I’m going into it with a mindset that I’m going to kill it, it’s the only mindset I have.”
“Two years ago I sucked at basketball…I put in the time before, during and after school to get where I’m at today.” Aside from his perpetual improvement mindset, one that puts podcasts in his ears, basketball videos in his face, and a strict nutritional plan on his plate, Suemnick began to follow the Vert Code. The near-religious workout regimen has a track record of escorting prospects to the highest level the sport offers. James Harden, to name one of them. “It’s basketball specific workouts for improving vertical jump, speed, stability, and everything you need for basketball,” said Suenmick. “It’s a combination of things and finding what your weaknesses are and working on them.”
And, when the dust settles, he has proven he can play. He has proven he can work. He led his team to the state tournament, averaging 18.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game as the most formidable inside player — and dunker — in Wisconsin’s 2019 class. He’s improving before our eyes. Just imagine what he’ll do behind closed doors with world-class training.