WVU fifth year Quinn Slazinski is looking to extend his time in Morgantown, and with it, his intensity and experience brought to the Mountaineers.
Since he was young, Slazinski has been traveling across the country and gaining new experiences at every turn. He grew up in both Michigan and Texas before moving by himself to Huntington Expression Prep in West Virginia to focus on basketball.
That time at Huntington Prep planted the seed for Slazinski’s return to West Virginia as a Mountaineer. Despite the three-hour trip from Huntington to Morgantown, the school provided experience that made Slazinski think of WVU as part of his home.
“(Huntington) used to put 12 of us in a van and come watch a football game back when Will Grier was quarterback,” Slazinski said. “I was really familiar with the place. It was really an at-home vibe.”
Slazinski continued his travels when he reached the college level, but, after graduating at Iona, he made his way back to West Virginia. While WVU gives Slazinski a sense of home, he provides the team a sense of spirit and overwhelming passion.
Early in the season, Slazinski was one of the seven available players receiving rotational minutes as the NCAA barred several Mountaineers from participating. After the team’s first loss of the season against Monmouth, Slazinski showed his leadership and willingness to fight despite the unfavorable circumstances.
“This is a high level. Forget the situation, we are here to play at a high level. We did not show that tonight,” Slazinski said. He even went on to reference some Mountaineer history that he looked to emulate from his childhood.
“Growing up as a kid, I’m like ‘West Virginia hasn’t lost one 50-50 ball,’ and we got to have some of that toughness, got to have some of that fight and play with emotion, just playing as a team, and understand that it’s just so much bigger than everyone individually.”
Slazinski capped off his interview with some final words of encouragement, demonstrating his passion and energy, but also his incredible composure as a leader.
“We are here to win games. This little hiccup we have, we’re going to take it and learn from it. I love every single one of my teammates, and we’re not going to get bullied again.”
Those words came from a place of truth, as despite experiencing a great deal of issues throughout the season, the Mountaineers also used the exact energy Slazinski described to beat two ranked teams at home, in No. 25 Texas and No. 3 Kansas.
Even in high school, Slazinski was characterized by scouts as, “fairly tough and scrappy,” which is bound to go to another level at Louisville, which was briefly ranked No. 1 in the nation during Slazinski’s freshman season, and with two-time NCAA champion coach Rick Pitino at Iona.
Pitino had a great impact on Slazinski and pushed him to be great every night, which Slazinski said he took in stride. With those learned values and the newly-provided comfort from the environment of West Virginia and from coach Josh Eilert, Slazinski’s maturity and leadership showed on the court, which he has been on all 29 games of the season thus far.
Aside from leadership, culture, and experience, though, Slazinski brings a great deal of talent and versatility to the court. A 6’9″ forward, Slazinski grabs 4.1 rebounds per contest and spends a lot of time inside, but he also never hesitates to stretch to the perimeter.
Slazinski shoots 4.3 three-point attempts on average per game and makes roughly 33% of those shots. He also can be a bit of a distributor, both as a facilitator in the post and at the top of the key when necessary.
Again, though, the biggest contribution from Slazinski for the Mountaineers, even statistically, are his 29.2 minutes per game in every game of the season. Whether shots fall or not, Slazinski’s presence eases the responsibilities of every other player on the court, and his evident passion and energy gives a meaning to those minutes.
Quinn Slazinski plays what may be his final home game for the West Virginia Mountaineers on Wednesday. Senior night against TCU tips off at 7 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
