Quinn Kwasniak's faith in God and hard work have made the Cornerstone Christian guard special

“God, others and then yourself. If you just go out there and play like that, the freedom you have is amazing”

Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports | Feb 13, 2023

WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – Cornerstone Christian head basketball coach Babe Kwasniak has coached a lot of players in his career and has seen a number of hard workers, but there is only one player he calls ‘maniacal’ about his work ethic – his son Quinn Kwasniak.

Following a loss last week at Archbishop Hoban, Babe Kwasniak predicted that when the family returned home, his sophomore guard would be outside working on his game – never mind that the temperature outside was about 25 degrees.

“He is maniacal, I have never seen anything like it,” Babe Kwasniak said. “I always said I have never coached a kid who works as hard as he thinks he does, and I have never coached a kid who worked as hard as I did. It is incredible the amount of hours he puts in. He will probably go home tonight, put the spotlight on and get shots up.”

The coach was right. When Quinn got home, the 6-foot-2 guard put on a ski mask and went outside to shoot. He was out there until after midnight and Babe wasn’t sure what time his son finished, as he responded to a text message with “who knows, I went to bed.”

It is the hard work and dedication that has made Quinn Kwasniak – affectionately referred to as “Turtle” because his older brother BK said he crawled like one as a baby – such a great player.

In less than two full seasons of high school basketball, Turtle has already scored 1,174 points and has upped his scoring average to 29.7 points per game this season after averaging 22.3 points as a freshman.

One reason for the high point total is that he has knocked down 202 career 3-pointers, with 110 of those coming last season. It isn’t just that Quinn Kwasniak is hitting 3s – he is also hitting them at an efficient rate. He shot 40% from deep last season and has improved that to 45% this year.

And while most people marvel at the number of 3s Kwasniak has hit, it is another aspect of the game that the coach thinks is just as impressive.

After going 105-of-129 from the free throw line last season, Quinn has hit 151 of his 193 free throws this year and was averaging 10.2 free throw attempts per game until not getting to the line a single time against Hoban.

“Everyone talks about threes, but he has made like 150 free throws, and he has gotten to the line like 190 times,” Babe Kwasniak said.

One of the reasons he gets to the line so often is because he never stops moving, with or without the ball. His constant movement tires out opponents, which can cause them to reach out and grab him just to slow him down.

“It’s exhausting, there was one point where I needed to sub,” Hoban guard Logan Vowles said of guarding Quinn Kwasniak. “He runs around a lot, he’s like Steph Curry.”

Speaking of Steph Curry, Babe Kwasniak spent six years at a camp with the Golden State Warriors superstar and calls him one of the best shooters he has ever seen. He sees the same kind of skill in Quinn.

“I have learned not to take special for granted,” Babe Kwasniak said. “I have seen three people in my life shoot a basketball better than (Quinn) – Wardell “Stephen” Curry, J.J. Redick and his godfather Kevin Houston, who led the country in scoring and free throw percentage at Army in 1987. And he is 16 years old. That’s pretty amazing.”

It wasn’t always this way for Quinn Kwasniak, however.

“You’re talking about a kid who was cut by his AAU team in fifth or sixth grade, he was cut by his grade school team in Mayfield in sixth grade,” Babe Kwasniak said. “But he decided he was going to put the work in, and it shows.”

That work has led to Quinn being the focal point for the opposing defense and being double- or triple-teamed at times while also having defenders get physical. But he was prepared for the way he would be guarded in high school by BK, who is now at West Point. During COVID, the family would play basketball outside, and BK would show Quinn what to expect.

“(BK) taught him how to compete and taught him how to play,” Babe Kwasniak said. “(BK) was ruthless on (Quinn). During COVID, we would go out in the driveway and play 3-on-3 and he taught him how to cut and he basically beat the crap out of him and told him this is how everybody is going to guard you.”

Babe Kwasniak, who coached Villa Angela-St. Joseph to the state championship game five years in a row and cut down the nets in three of those years, knows that the individual accomplishments don’t mean as much to Quinn as winning.

“The best part about him is that all the things he has accomplished, he doesn’t care about any of that, but only about winning,” Babe Kwasniak said. “That’s because he grew up his whole life watching St. Joe's win championships. And in his mind, he’s not doing (the individual stuff) because he is selfish, he is doing it because he thinks that is what has to happen for his team to win.”

Meanwhile, Quinn credits his teammates for the success he has had this season.

“It’s tough at times but I think I have teammates who are like brothers who can push me the same way BK did,” Quinn Kwasniak said. “It’s such a blessing to have guys who are that close to you who can get on you when you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be do. I can’t do it without my unselfish teammates.”

And while the basketball success is great, there is something else that makes Babe Kwasniak prouder of Quinn than anything he could accomplish with a basketball in his hands.

“The thing I am most proud of with this young man is (how he became) a Christ follower the way he is,” Babe Kwasniak said. “You change your mindset you change your life. (To see) the transformation in him, he is leading and he doesn’t even know he is doing it.”

That transformation has been helped by the people surrounding Quinn on a daily basis.

“God put me in this situation, He gives me the opportunity to play this sport that I get to play every single day,” Quinn Kwasniak said. “(My teammates) have inspired me a lot to be the best person and Christian I can possibly be and just to come out and glorify God win or lose. I think that’s the most important thing.

“God, others and then yourself. If you just go out there and play like that, the freedom you have is amazing.”