Being among the leading scorers for the Oswego State Lakers with 12.2 points per game, guard Quinn Carey has been a pleasant surprise on and off the court for the Lakers this season.

The Lakers’ season has been an absolute turnaround from last season’s subpar record of 14-13 to an impressive 17-3 with five games left in the regular season. The addition of the great three-point shooter Carey has helped catapult the team to where it is now.

Carey decided to transfer to Oswego State from SUNY Geneseo for his senior year and final season of college basketball. Carey’s journeyw to Oswego State has been one of many stops along the road, but Carey displayed consistency at each place where he spent his time. Being from Florida, it was quite a change of scenery for Carey, as he spent his whole collegiate career in New York state. His first stop was at the Div. II Roberts Wesleyan College, where he spent two seasons of his collegiate career. In his freshman and sophomore years, he came straight out of the gun as a scoring threat behind the arc, averaging 10.7 and 12.2 points per game respectively. In just two seasons there, he set the school record for career three-pointers made with 162.

After his two years at Roberts Wesleyan College, Carey moved on to play for the SUNY Geneseo Knights for junior year, where he led the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game. He also led the SUNYAC in three-pointers made that season with 91. After helping lead the Geneseo Knights to a 14-12 record, Carey transferred to Oswego State. What led Quinn Carey to transfer to Oswego?

It was not quite for athletics. Being a student athlete, Carey made his decision based off academics.

“I ended up transferring here for the broadcasting major,” Carey said. “I was coming into a really good basketball situation with [head coach Jason Leone] and all the guys returning here.”

Carey and the Oswego State  Lakers are a match made in heaven. While he is helping the team thrive this season, he also feels at home and happy.

“It’s been awesome,” Carey said. “It’s been better than anywhere else I’ve been.”

He has been one of the major components of the team’s unity this season, showing that he is unselfish and willing to step up and be a leader when he needs to be. Leone praised Quinn’s character and personality, calling him “unselfish” and “happy.” Leone even added, “he knows what it takes to win.”

Apart from just scoring and putting up great shooting percentages on the box score, Carey helps his team and teammates play better in a way that is not tangible. The intangibles he brings the table are all a product of his excellent shooting and scoring ability.

“When he is on the floor,” Leone said. “He attracts a defender at every moment, so what that does is it opens up the floor. There have been teams that face guarded him, not allowing him to touch the ball, which, frankly, I believe helps us. And he is a very unselfish player. That doesn’t bother him.”

Carey, who is leading the team with 71 three-pointers, has welcomed and is enjoying his role and the team effort that the Lakers have shown this season.

“At [SUNY] Geneseo, I was relied on to score more, but the really nice part here is we have five other guys who are all all-conference caliber guys,” Carey said.

When interacting with Carey, the first thing that one notices is his easy-going demeanor. In just one season, he has managed to help lead the Lakers to a chance to win their conference and has left his mark on the team on and off the court.

“He has a great ability to knockdown open shots and contested shots,” Leone said. “He is a happy guy.”

The biggest testament to Carey’s character is his favorite memory as a Laker so far. It was not his 26 point night against SUNY New Paltz, but rather the game against his younger brother, where he scored just 13.

“Without a doubt it was our game here against Plattsburgh [State],” Carey said. “We won on a last second shot by our point guard Liam Sanborn. I got to play against my younger brother, Liam Carey, which was a really cool experience.”

Photo by Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian