During Quincy Guerrier’s first days in central New York, he trekked to Walmart and purchased a green notebook.

The idea, like much of Guerrier’s basketball development, crystalized at Thetford (Quebec) Academy. Guerrier’s high school coach, Ibrahim Appiah, urged Guerrier for months to document his routine. Guerrier’s story — the path from little-known prospect to Syracuse forward — could make for a good book, Appiah thought. Guerrier agreed.

“Live the moment,” Appiah told the forward, “but maximize the day.”

So, for the last 299 days, Guerrier’s tracked his workouts, shot total and training regimen. At the end of every week, he neatly fills in the college-ruled lines. Guerrier used to input practice shooting percentages, but when the automatic rebounder didn’t track his makes perfectly, he stopped.

Guerrier has chronicled his progress as Syracuse’s (17-14, 10-10 Atlantic Coast) sixth man, producing a quasi-roadmap of his freshman season. He’s flashed his potential with 6.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, taking over when SU’s frontcourt slinks into foul trouble. Guerrier’s also produced head-scratching mistakes, but he has 40 pages left in his notebook, he estimates, with the handful of games the Orange have left. Guerrier is known among friends and teammates for his detail-oriented personality, and the book is a projection of his mindset.

“(It helps me) stay focused, track everything and see if I’m lacking sometimes.” Guerrier said.

Guerrier tried to keep a journal during his senior year of high school, Appiah said. It didn’t stick. His training was more objective-based, as Appiah and others comprised the support group that built Guerrier into a Division-I talent.

When he started to score upwards of 30 points a contest, Armel Mampouya, another Thethord coach, noticed spectators repeating Guerrier’s name over and over. Mampouya eventually began calling Guerrier ‘Candyman’ — a reference to the 1992 horror movie starring Tony Todd. Say his name five times, and Candyman appears to kill you with a hook. While Guerrier harbored a love for candy, he had the ability to finish games off.

But through the recruiting process, eventually deciding on SU over Oregon, Guerrier wasn’t tested physically. The book wasn’t necessary. He filled into his 6-foot-7 frame and dominated competition. That changed when he arrived on campus on May 18th.

In his opening workout with SU assistant coach Adrian Autry, Guerrier dribbled with a heavy ball, ran sprints and worked on his shot. Guerrier inputted the session in the book, ’Workout – Coach Red,’ and viewed it as a test. He was conditioned — constantly referred to as one of the strongest players on Syracuse — but felt the onset of his roller coaster season.

“The reminder was when you go (to Syracuse),” Appiah said, “it’s going to be different … Once he got there, he was like, ‘I know I’m in shape, but I feel like I’m out of shape.’”

In his regular-season debut, he finished with zero points and four missed shots in a 13-minute stint against Virginia. Appiah and Guerrier’s mom, Saoua Melissa Lemay Nague, waited for him near Syracuse’s tunnel in the Carrier Dome. Appiah immediately sensed the disappointment. It was Guerrier’s first time confronting “true adversity” on the court, Appiah said. Their conversation initially avoided the game. Outside Guerrier’s apartment, though, Appiah allowed Guerrier to explain his approach before referring back to the notebook.

In his final weeks at Thetford, Appiah and others confronted Guerrier with hypotheticals he may face at Syracuse. They intentionally brought their best player off the bench some games, preparing for the likelihood he’d have to do it for the Orange. They also burdened him with expectations, using a hardline approach that’d mimic SU head coach Jim Boeheim.

Throughout the campaign, Guerrier’s committed turnovers and taken low-quality shots, earning arm waves or yells from the 44-year head coach. But Guerrier knew to focus on the content of Boeheim’s rants. Guerrier called Appiah early in the season and said, “Coach is tough on me.” The pair laughed since Appiah, and therefore Guerrier, anticipated potential outbursts. In one stretch, he took 500 shots three days in a row, but on the fourth he attempted 200. He identified the changes in his schedule, whether it be practice times or class work, and readjusted.

During SU’s summer trip to Italy, players asked their new teammate about his ‘Candyman’ moniker. Soon after, he stocked his apartment supply with the team’s favorites: Starburst and Skittles. When Elijah Hughes or walk-on Nick Giancola enter Guerrier’s room, they run toward the stash. On one trip, Guerrier munched on Sour Patch kids (he prefers the Canadian variation, made by Maynards) when Buddy encouraged Quincy to ask Jim Boeheim if he wanted some. It was Boeheim’s favorite, too.

He hasn’t completely erased the rookie gaffes, but he’s carved out a role. At Florida State, on Feb. 15, Guerrier was trapped in front of the Seminoles bench and traveled on his first offensive possession. Boeheim immediately subbed him out for Marek Dolezaj and talked to Guerrier on the sidelines. After a few moments, Boeheim sent Guerrier back to the scorer’s table, and he finished the game with 13 points, three rebounds and two blocks. Albeit a small moment, it showed Guerrier had partially turned the page.

Support has manifested in other ways, too. Appiah grew up 10 minutes from former SU forward Kris Joseph and acted as an intermediary for observations in Guerrier’s game. Joseph sometimes comments on Guerrier’s Instagram, too, as Guerrier brands each day at SU with a story post: a black background with white lettering. Tuesday was ‘Day 298.’

Initially, Appiah said, people thought Guerrier was counting down the days till his impending NBA Draft decision. They didn’t get it. Guerrier was expressing his mantra to 11,700 followers. Live the moment, but maximize the day. His routine has stayed consistent, a plan filled with upper- and lower-body workouts and 10- to 20-minute runs outside of practice, in part due to the book.

Following a midseason slump, Appiah walked by a trash can at the mall. He opened Snapchat and took a photo before sending it to Guerrier with the caption: “Hey, Quincy, I just found you at the mall.”

“He played like garbage,” Appiah said, “but he played along (with the joke). … I didn’t know how he was going to handle it.”

Guerrier responded with laughter. It was just Appiah checking in as he usually does, eventually asking Guerrier about the numbers in the book.

“When he puts it all together,” Appiah said, “if he gets out of his shell, I think you’re getting a different Quincy.”

Published on March 10, 2020 at 10:35 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez