By CHARLIE PARENT
Jake Sussberg, a 6-foot-6 guard out of NY Wiz Kids AAU and Scarsdale HS, has committed to Princeton, he tells ZAGSBLOG.
The sharpshooter was one of the fastest risers this past spring, averaging 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit.
He chose the Tigers over NJIT, Cornell, Lehigh, Loyola, Columbia and Stonybrook, among others.
“Princeton has excelled in the development of their players,” he told ZAGSBLOG. “Their academics speak for themselves, and I felt incredibly at home on my visit there. The coaching staff connected with me early on and have made my recruitment a priority. With hard work, I can really play well within their system and I’m looking forward to being a Princeton Tiger.”
Sussberg is regarded as a quality shot maker. He’s long been known for his elite shooting behind the arc, but also gets involved often on the glass as a bigger guard.
“Jake’s game translates really well to the college level regardless of conference,” Scarsdale head coach Joe Amelio said. “He has a really good niche in terms of shooting. Every team needs shooting and Jake can shoot at a high level. He’s got a quick release and no dip in his shot. I tell him and sort of joke with him that his shot is similar to Klay Thompson: wherever the ball hits his hands he can go up, no dip, and make a shot. But, his game truly translates well. He’s somebody that can play right away in college. Obviously, there’s some things to improve on because college is a different beast but he’s held his own in play this summer with guys who are already at the mid and high major level.”
In terms of his mentality, Sussberg is a high character player who heads into this third season as Scarsdale’s captain. He’s stuck loyal to the New York Section 1 program, even with neighboring leagues like the CHSAA and NEPSAC offering tougher competition.
“Jake is one of the highest character players I’ve come across,” Amelio said. “He truly leads by example. If we describe what a captain is, Jake fits that perfectly: he’s vocal in the locker room, he’s the first one in the gym and last to leave, he’s working two-a-days. I think of the quote ‘when you’re best player is your hardest worker, it really goes a long way’ and that’s the case with Jake. He holds everyone accountable and wants to play at the highest level of Division I and win a Section Championship, while getting his teammates involved, so it’s really been exciting for the program to have a player like him.”
“Jake came in as a freshman and played varsity as a freshman,” Amelio finished. “He blew up after sophomore year and a whole lot more after last year. He could’ve transferred four times. He could’ve gone to NEPSAC or CHSAA and I think we’ve been loyal to him, we’ve developed him, and he’s seen that and been loyal to us. We expect the same exact thing at the next level, he’s a loyal kid and his family is loyal, and they believe in everyone that believes in him. So, that’s the best way to put it in terms of his loyalty to the next level.”
Sussberg and Amelio attribute his success this summer to Scarsdale’s assistant coach Jordan Griffith, as well as Wiz Kids head man Coach Mugsy.
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