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Former Syracuse forward Quincy Guerrier will transfer to Oregon, he announced on Instagram. Guerrier had previously announced on April 30 that he’d enter the transfer portal while still continuing to test the pre-draft process and eventually whittled his list down to the Ducks, Memphis, Arizona State and Illinois.

Throughout the past two seasons, Guerrier took his role as the Orange’s sixth man and turned it into a regular starting spot while, at the same time, boosting his draft stock through four double-doubles in seven games to open the 2020-21 season. He refined his shot during the elongated offseason and used slight fingertip and elbow adjustments to resemble the stretch forward — who at the same time was a pure scorer — that SU head coach Jim Boeheim envisioned Guerrier as while recruiting him.

“He wants to be in the situation that allows him to develop, to be able to play and perform at the next level,” Ibrahim Appiah, Guerrier’s high school coach, said.

Guerrier and Appiah spent the last three weeks fielding calls from around 15 or 20 schools, narrowing the list down and eventually coordinating Zooms where they listened to members of the schools’ coaching staffs pitch Guerrier — breaking down his game and analyzing how he, and his projected development, fits into their system.

Appiah said that Oregon’s style stood out to Guerrier because he could play the “inside-out” system while answering question marks that stuck with him despite strides he made at Syracuse, including whether he can consistently hit outside shots, whether he can “put (the ball) on the floor” and whether his defensive skills are strong and can translate to the professional level.

“It was a matter of finding a place that kind of allows you to work on those question marks,” Appiah said.

Guerrier finished his sophomore season shooting 31.1% on 74 3-point attempts, nearly tripling the amount of shots he took from beyond the arc his first year with SU and complementing that with the team’s highest 2-point field goal percentage at 55.4%. Opponents couldn’t give Guerrier extra space around the 3-point line anymore, and that opened up other opportunities on offense for Syracuse.

Quincy Guerrier announced his transfer to Oregon on Thursday. Courtesy of Rich Barnes | USA Today Sports

He also led the Orange with 8.4 rebounds per game and finished with the highest offensive and defensive rebounding percentages on SU, per KenPom. Guerrier’s offensive outputs tailed off in the second half of the season, but he still finished with eight double-doubles despite finishing with single-digit point totals in five of Syracuse’s last 10 games.

“Last year he was spotting up a lot for 3s,” Boeheim said on Dec. 16. “That’s not where he’s good. He’s stronger than most anybody he’s gonna play against, and he’s quick to the ball. He’s got good instincts around the basket.”

With Oregon, Guerrier will join a program that went 21-7 and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to USC. The Ducks, also a program that had recruited Guerrier out of high school, had the 10th-best adjusted offensive efficiency under Dana Altman, per KenPom, with their 37.7 3-point percentage ranking No. 18 in the country — led by Chris Duarte and his 42.4%.

Guerrier’s the fourth Syracuse player to announce their transfer destination, joining Woody Newton (Oklahoma State), Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall) and Robert Braswell (Charlotte), while John Bol Ajak remains in the portal. With Marek Dolezaj forgoing his extra year of eligibility and Alan Griffin entering the NBA Draft and signing with an agent, the Orange have now lost seven players from last year’s roster that advanced to the Sweet 16.

Published on May 20, 2021 at 4:02 pm

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew