Guerrier showcasing best version of basketball self
Jan. 2—CHAMPAIGN — Brad Underwood clearly saw something in Quincy Guerrier he felt would fit at Illinois. The Illini coach wouldn't have recruited him three times if that wasn't the case.
The initial pursuit was all about potential. Guerrier was a four-star recruit ranked among the top-75 prospects in the 2019 recruiting class coming out of Thetford Academy (Vt.).
That potential was realized in two seasons at Syracuse. Guerrier flashed as a physical forward, earning All-ACC Third-Team honors as a sophomore after leading the Orange in rebounding and finishing second on the team in scoring.
Underwood pursued Guerrier again after he opted to transfer from Syracuse, but the Montreal native landed at Oregon instead. That's where the 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward's offensive game blossomed. While Guerrier never topped the 13.7 points per game he scored as a sophomore at Syracuse, he became a more efficient shooter.
Illinois' third pursuit was a success, and finding a way to meld the best of Guerrier at Syracuse with the best of Guerrier at Oregon was the Illini's goal heading into this season.
Through a dozen games — once he was fully healthy, at least — that mission has been accomplished. Guerrier's double-double in last Friday night's 104-71 win against Fairleigh Dickinson was his third of the season, and he enters Tuesday's 8 p.m. home game against Northwestern (10-2, 1-0 Big Ten) having made 11 of his last 21 three-pointers.
"I think it was kind of re-sparking the rebounding bug in him," Underwood said. Guerrier leads the ninth-ranked Illini (10-2, 1-0) and is tied for 10th in the Big Ten with Minnesota's Dawson Garcia at 7.2 rebounds per game.
"He's just got a gift on the offensive glass," the Illinois coach continued. "The three-point shooting we knew would come. That was more wrist than anything. I think it's just been natural, easy kind of flow into things for him."
Not that Guerrier's final season has started without a few bumps along the way.
A single rebound in Illinois' season opener against Eastern Illinois drew Underwood's attention. And the right-wrist injury he took into the season saw him make just two of his first 20 three-pointers.
The last four games, though, have seen Guerrier be the best version of his basketball self. A career-high 28 points in the Braggin' Rights 97-73 win against Missouri, the double-double against FDU and averages of 19.8 points and 7.8 rebounds as a 54/52/80 shooter.
"He's as hard a worker every single day in practice as we've had here," Underwood said. "He goes every day."
That's just as true for Guerrier as a defender as it is a rebounder and scorer. He was an average defender in Syracuse's 2-3 zone and slightly less effective than that in two seasons at Oregon. A defensive rating of 89.5 — an estimate of points allowed in 100 possessions — is 10 1/2 points lower than his best effort at that end of the court for the Orange.
Underwood sees Guerrier's improved defense as his path to the pros.
"I'm really proud of myself," Guerrier said about his defensive improvements this season. "I've learned a lot of terminology. Even though I'm a fifth-year, I've learned a lot of stuff defensively, and I'm really happy with how I'm playing right now. Being more vocal. Using my size. How I can block shots or recover. Guarding one through five. I'm doing my job."
Illinois needs Guerrier to keep doing that job as it navigates basketball life without Terrence Shannon Jr. Guerrier was one of six Illini to score in double figures — and one of three with a double-double — in the win against FDU that came a day after learning Shannon had been suspended while facing a rape charge from an alleged incident in September in Lawrence, Kan.
"We really have a good team, man," Guerrier said. "Everybody has to step up and do their job. We know our role, and that's really important to this team. We're really connected, and we've just got to keep moving forward."
Guerrier was the final portal piece to Illinois' offseason. A difference maker as one of several veterans on an experienced team, which could stand between the Illini and a potential tumble out of the Top 25 in the wake of Shannon's suspension.
"There's a maturity about these transfers," Underwood said. "Their focus has been on winning. It's not about the individual team stuff. It's been about their teammates."
