How Quincy Guerrier Can Elevate Illinois Basketball
Illinois Basketball is just two days away from their opening night match at home vs Eastern Illinois. They are nearly a week removed from a very good showing in an exhibition against top-ranked Kansas. Illinois fans have been cautiously excited since that night. Illinois played great and looked much more stable than last season. However, fans are still cautiously optimistic. This is for good reason. The Kansas game was just an exhibition and the sample size is still small. Illinois will have to prove that they can still succeed once college coaches start to scout them better and have a more defined game plan for the new Illinois Basketball roster.
Marcus Domask and Justin Harmon played key roles and look like players who could have helped the team last year. However, the Kansas exhibition really highlighted the potential that another grad transfer could have this year. Quincy Guerrier.
A Versatile and Rugged Veteran.
Quincy Guerrier finally decided to come to Illinois. In his high school days, the Canadian native picked Syracuse over Oregon and Illinois. He then transferred to Oregon after two years in New York. After another two years at Oregon, Guerrier came full circle and decided to spend his last year of eligibility with Illinois. Quincy Guerrier has played multiple roles in his four years. At Syracuse, he was used as a power forward who specialized in rebounding. In Oregon, he was used as more of a wing shooter. Illinois looks to use Guerrier in both roles.
In certain lineups, Quincy Guerrier could provide a really nice compliment to Coleman Hawkins. His ability to rebound and his perimeter skills gave Illinois a lot of options and spacing. If he can shoot the ball well, Guerrier will have the ability to drive to the rim and draw fouls. Doing so takes a lot of pressure off of Terrence Shannon Jr, Coleman Hawkins, and Marcus Domask to make plays off the bounce.
Keep it simple.
Quincy Guerrier just has to recreate what he did against Kansas every single night. He put up 13 points, with 8 of them coming from the free-throw line. Also, Quincy nailed a catch-and-shoot 3 in crunch time when he was left wide open. He went on to grab 9 rebounds, 3 of which were offensive. If Guerrier can do this every single night, Illinois immediately cements itself as one of the best teams in the conference. Outside of Coleman Hawkins, Illinois has always lacked that true power forward who excels in rebounding and can score when called upon.
Matthew Mayer was far too streaky and was not a great rebounder. RJ Melendez was more of a small forward. Jacob Grandison did great, however, was a little undersized for the power forward spot. Guerrier fits in perfectly and can really stabilize a strong starting lineup for Illinois Basketball.
More must-reads: