With Oshae Brissett walking out the door he is handing the torch off to fellow Canadian Quincy Guerrier. Here’s why Syracuse basketball is in great hands.
I guess Oshae Brissett didn’t need until May 29th to make his decision. Late on Tuesday evening, he revealed on social media that he was keeping his name in the NBA Draft and is taking the next step.
Which leaves the Syracuse basketball program is in a very precarious position.
The Orange will now have to replace 80 percent of their starting lineup from the 2018 season:
- Frank Howard
- Graduated.
- Tyus Battle
- Battle revealed in a lengthy farewell letter that he would forgo his senior season to chase professional opportunities a few months ago.
- Oshae Brissett
- Brissett spent two years with the Orange and decided that was enough. The 2019 NBA Draft is June 20th.
- Paschal Chukwu
- Graduated.
- Played in 37 games.
- Averaged over 38 minutes per contest.
- Scored nearly 15 points per game and notched 8.8 boards on a nightly basis.
Which leaves four open spots to be claimed heading into 2019 with the only spot held down being one of the forward positions with Elijah Hughes returning.
When players leave the program it’s sad, but also at the same time, it creates openings and opportunities for new Orange players to create their own legacies. One of those players expected to come in and earn immediate playing time is Quincy Guerrier.
Guerrier was just recently cleared for takeoff by the NCAA to be able to play as a freshman for the Orange. No one knows that process more than fellow Canadian Oshae Brissett.
Interestingly enough when Brissett came to the Orange in 2017 there was also a massive opening at the forward spot that he took full advantage of as a freshman for Syracuse:
Perhaps Quincy can accomplish similar success in his freshman season? Call it a Canadian passing of the torch if you will.
On The Manchild Show with Boy Green on The Score 1260, Canadian Scout Wes Brown joined the show to give us all the details on who is Quincy Guerrier:
"“Quincy is much more of a scorer but is also a little smaller than Oshae Brissett. Oshae is more of a 3-4 (position) and Quincy is more of a 2-3 (position), but Guerrier has good size for a wing. Quincy creates his own shot very well. He’s a really good three-point shooter and overall is a good jump shooter. Definitely not an elite athlete and probably isn’t as fluid as Oshae, but he can finish. He had a ton of 40 point games in Quebec. Syracuse has done a really nice job recruiting the top Canadian guys and he’s (Quincy Guerrier) No. 1 player in the country for 2019 that are graduating from high school.”"If Oshae would’ve left after his freshman season, not a lot of Syracuse fans would’ve been surprised. He showed great promise and displayed flashes of brilliance.
As a freshman Quincy is going to have those same opportunities to be a star here at Syracuse. Having the ability to create your own shot is a very unique skill to have. By possessing that talent, you don’t have to rely on coaching to put you in the right spot, you always have the fallback option to wing it on the fly.