When Renard Suggs steps onto Friel Court this Friday in the Cougars’ first exhibition game of the 2015 season, he will be playing for more than just the crimson and gray colors stitched on his jersey. Suggs will be adding another chapter to his family’s long history competitive sports.

His father, Rickey Suggs Sr., was a Mr. Basketball runner up in the state of Minnesota in 1980. Suggs Sr. also played football at the University of Nebraska and for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The WSU transfer guard is also cousins with Super Bowl champion and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs.

“We just breathe sports,” Suggs Sr. said.

This can often lead to pressure of meeting or exceeding those rich family roots, but for Renard, that is not the case.

“I wouldn’t say pressure, but everybody (in my family) expects me to be good,” Suggs said. “If I was bad at my sport, (my family) would be like ‘ahh what’s going on?’”

The WSU junior grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was introduced to basketball by his father at a young age.

“As a little kid I always liked throwing balls around, shooting on the little hoop, and I just fell in love with the game,” Suggs said.

Growing up, Suggs often played basketball at the park with his father and his older brother Rickey Suggs Jr.

With his father being a successful and well-known athlete in Minnesota, Suggs said he always wanted to defeat his old man on the court. However, he would often fail at doing so.

As Suggs continued to grow as a basketball player, it meant the one-on-one games between him and his father would became closer and closer.

“Last time we played he (Renard) almost beat me, and I knew I had to retire because I couldn’t let him beat me,” Suggs Sr. said.

When Renard played AAU basketball for a team called Howard Pulley out of Maple Grove, Minnesota, he often played against the top high school players in the U.S. Those players included Andrew Wiggins and Julius Randle, who both currently play in the NBA.

Prior to those AAU games, Suggs received motivation from his father, giving him the boost he needed to compete on the court.

“‘Hey don’t back down from anyone, just give it your best and whatever happens, happens,’” Suggs Sr. said to his son.

Besides AAU basketball, Suggs also played for Woodbury High School, where he was a four-year starter. However, it wasn’t until the summer of his sophomore year when he began to breakout as a basketball player.

“That’s when I exploded, and things took off from there,” Renard said.

Suggs added it was the competition he faced in AAU basketball the summer prior that pushed him to become a better basketball player. That summer paid off for Suggs as he helped lead Woodbury to state in both his junior and senior seasons. He also was named the Suburban East Conference Player of the Year in his senior year.

“I loved it, just the fans, the people, everybody was welcoming,” Suggs said. “I just love Woodbury a lot.”

After graduating from Woodbury, Suggs went a different route for continuing his basketball career. Instead of signing with a Division-I program straight out of high school, Suggs decided to play junior college basketball with his Suggs Jr. at Gillette College in Wyoming. The two brothers also played together at Woodbury.

“Basketball-wise it was nice because we both know each other, so we connected good (on the floor), and me and him led our team to a No. 9 ranking in the country,” Suggs Jr. said.

In Renard’s second year at Gillette, he and his older brother also helped the school reach the NJCAA Nationals.

“Nothing is better than playing with my brother,” Suggs said. “We mesh so hard, so I just wanted to have another chance of playing with my brother.”

Suggs averaged 13.5 points and made a team high of 89 3-pointers in 35 games during his sophomore year at Gillette.

Suggs’ performance at Gillette College eventually caught the eye of the WSU men’s basketball coaching staff. After multiple encounters with the Cougar coaches and taking a visit to the Palouse, Suggs felt it was best to don the crimson and gray.

“On the down-low I committed at Coach Kent’s house, and I told him personally and he said, ‘well we’re going to do it at the dinner,’” Suggs said. “Then I tapped the glass to be funny or whatever and announced it and my mom cried. It was a good moment for me.”

It was also a nice moment for his father, who had been the biggest supporter of his children as they chased their dreams.

“It’s just a good feeling for me to realize how hard we work for our kids and see them continue to play basketball,” Suggs Sr. said.

Entering his first season at WSU, Suggs is ready to help get the WSU men’s basketball program back on the map.

“Everybody’s been playing really good,” he added. “I can’t wait to step on the court with them.”