Quincy Guerrier says couldn’t show full potential with Syracuse basketball

Former Syracuse basketball sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier is headed to strong Pac-12 Conference squad Oregon, where he said in an interview that he “will be able to show my full potential.”

Not too long ago, the 6-foot-7 Guerrier revealed on social media that he would continue to test the NBA Draft waters while also entering his name into the NCAA’s transfer portal.

His decision to transfer caught me a bit by surprise. Once that news broke, Guerrier received a flood of interest from high-major programs. He ultimately picked Oregon over three other finalists in Arizona State, Illinois and Memphis.

First and foremost, I wish Guerrier nothing but the best. During the most recent campaign, I was on a bunch of Zoom calls with Guerrier and other media members.

He’s a polite, smart young man who works hard, and I hope that he shines with the Ducks. Oregon is annually a contender to claim Pac-12 glory, and the Ducks often do well in the Big Dance, reaching the Final Four in 2017.

Losing Guerrier was a big-time blow for the ‘Cuse, in my humble opinion. In the 2020-21 term, he was named to the All-ACC third team, as Guerrier averaged 13.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest, while connecting on 49.3 percent from the field.

Former Syracuse basketball player Quincy Guerrier details why he departed the Hill.

Guerrier, a season ago, was one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top rebounders, and he represented the best interior scoring presence for the Orange.

Even though Guerrier excelled in the paint, he says that he wants to play more on the perimeter with his new college team as a wing, rather than down-low as a power forward.

"Guerrier told college basketball insider Adam Zagoria, in part, “I’m going to play more at the three and I’m going to be able to play more on the perimeter and put the ball more on the floor. That was really the main reason why I left Syracuse because I couldn’t really do that. Now I will be able to show my full potential.”"

My assumption is that Guerrier wants the ability to shoot more from beyond the arc. If he does that well, it could absolutely grab the attention of NBA scouts and front-office executives.

Last year, Guerrier connected on 31.1 percent from downtown, a significant improvement over his long-range shooting of just 12.5 percent as a freshman. If he could, as a junior, increase his 3-point shooting to around 35 percent, I imagine that will be huge for his NBA Draft stock.

When he was being recruited out of high school in Canada, Oregon was the first squad to offer him and was one of his three finalists, Guerrier said to Zagoria. So the Ducks coaching staff had a prior relationship with Guerrier, and that must have helped Oregon win out this time around.