Ohio high school junior Quinn 'Turtle' Kwasniak has made an astonishing 342 3-pointers
WILLOUGHBY, Ohio - Cornerstone Christian Academy head coach Babe Kwasniak wasn't going to start his son Quinn Kwasniak in his first game as a freshman in the 2021-22 season. But Quinn knocked down seven 3-pointers in a scrimmage and the coach figured he had no choice but to start the kid.
It turned out to be a good decision by Babe Kwasniak because in less than three full seasons, the player they call "Turtle" has been anything but slow, collecting his 2,000th career point in a loss to Warrensville Heights on February 10th and he has already become the second-most prolific 3-point shooter in OHSAA history with 342 3-pointers made.
His first three seasons all rank in the top-10 of OHSAA single-season 3-point shooting.
"I didn't even know that," Turtle Kwasniak said after Cornerstone Christian defeated Andrews Osborne Academy 58-43 on Friday. "It’s kind of crazy. But at the end of the day, I'm just trying to play the sport I love and go to work with my guys and thank God every day for it."
That's a response that wouldn't surprise the head coach, who knows that numbers don't mean anything to his son.
"The reality is he doesn't care," Babe Kwasniak said. 'He would be fine scoring no points and winning."
In fact, the younger Kwasniak thinks those who he has played with for the last three years not only are more excited about his accomplishments, but they deserve a lot of the credit for where he sits in the record books.
"I feel like a lot of my teammates care more than me especially the guys that have been here before," Turtle Kwasniak said. "A lot of those guys care so much about this and they were so unselfish the years before. I'm so thankful to have them just get on me my freshman and sophomore years. I wouldn't be here without any of them. So I should give all the credit to them, I am so blessed."
The pure numbers Turtle Kwasniak has put up over three seasons look like something out of a video game.
He has scored in double figures in 53 straight games, has scored over 30 points 31 times, over 40 points 10 times and over 50 points three times, including a career-high 60 points in a win over Horizon Science Academy on January 17th of this year.
He has hit at least one 3-pointer in 49 straight games, has 12 games with at least seven 3-pointers and has four games with more than 10 3-pointers made, including 13 in that 60-point performance.
His name is now among such greats as Jay Burson, Clark Kellogg, Geno Ford, Bob Huggins and LeBron James when it comes to high school basketball in the state of Ohio. And he does it all while having at least one defender on him at all times, even if he is 40 feet from the ball.
"(The numbers) aren't subjective, they're objective," Babe Kwasniak said. "I'm a student of the game, I've been a gym rat my entire life. You just look at those names and then to think the 3-point line has been around been around for a while now. And so to do that, with being guarded that way (is amazing)."
Babe Kwasniak makes Turtle watch every game Iowa women's basketball superstar Caitlin Clark plays. But the reason Babe has Turtle watch Clark is not just because of her ridiculous shooting range - something Turtle has as well - but also because of the way Clark plays the game.
While Clark has averaged 28.3 points per game in her career, she also averages 8.1 assists per game. Meanwhile, Turtle Kwasniak averages 35.2 points and seven assists per game this season. And Clark, like Turtle, does it all while being face-guarded throughout the game.
“Just the way she gets guarded and how she moves and just seeing her, I think I could translate a lot of that to my game,” Turtle said. “She's amazing. I don't usually watch girls basketball like that, but it's crazy to see her do her thing.”
Speaking of females who can do their thing on the basketball court, Turtle Kwasniak doesn't have to look outside his own living room. His mom, Dr. Laura Kwasniak, was an All-American in basketball in high school and then starred at the United States Military Academy West Point before finishing at the top of her class.
The son says he knows his mom was good, but also admits he hasn't really seen footage of her playing days.
"I've never really watched a full game of hers," Turtle Kwasniak said. "But from what I heard and the records she has, she's pretty amazing."
Being pretty amazing doesn't mean he is looking for shooting advice from his mother, however.
"I'll try to give him a tip or two, but he's not up for mom (helping)," Laura Kwasniak said with a smile. "He doesn't think Mom knows how to play basketball, but that's okay."
Laura Kwasniak is still in awe of just how good the second of the three Kwasniak kids has turned out when it comes to shooting the basketball, but she has seen the countless hours of work Turtle has put in trying to perfect his craft.
"I never thought in a million years he would be this good and that good of a shooter, that talented," Laura Kwasniak said. "It's such a blessing to see how hard he works and then to see that pay off."
Cornerstone Christian's Quinn Kwasniak watches as a 3-pointer goes in during a win over Andrews Osborne Academe on February 16, 2024.Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports
The work ethic has been something Babe Kwasniak has always raved about with Turtle, and he saw it at a young age when Babe was the head coach at Villa Angela-St. Joseph. After St. Joe's won the state championship, Turtle Kwasniak, who wasn't even 10 years old yet, ran to grab the game ball and started shooting while the team was celebrating.
In the years after that, the younger Kwasniak would carry a notebook around and have shooting competitions with Babe's players.
"At one point he loved to shoot more than he loved to compete," Babe Kwasniak said. "He would shoot against all the varsity players at Joe's and he would actually keep a list of who he's beaten and who he hadn’t beaten."
The father believes his middle child got that competitive spirit from his older brother, BK, who was a senior in Turtle's freshman year and is now in his second year at the United States Military Academy West Point, following in his parent's footsteps.
"His older brother one time got in a fight with his nine-year-old brother over Monopoly," Babe Kwasniak said. "And I think (Turtle) learned how to compete from BK."
That competitiveness was on full display in the game against Horizon Science Academy when Turtle Kwasniak scored 60 points. He didn't finish the game because he dove for a loose ball and hit his face on the gym door, bloodying himself and getting his eye nearly swollen shut.
But the next day, Turtle was back on the court trying to shoot, even though he had missed school. That was shut down quickly by Babe.
"I was trying to shoot again like the day after and he was yelling at me," Turtle Kwasniak said. "He said no, get off the court and go sit down. I was just kind of pissed but it felt great to get back."
While Babe wouldn't let Turtle back on the court that day, he knows that he pushes his son harder than he pushes just about any other player he has ever had. But he does it for a reason, and he does it out of love.
"I push him more than I push anyone, but I do that because I believe he can be better than anyone I've ever had," Babe Kwasniak said. "And that's saying something because I've had some dudes and I know that's what he wants. He doesn't want me to be easy. Discipline is still a form of love. And the type of discipline we believe in as Kwasniaks is perfect discipline. The only thing you can do in life to really not glorify the Lord is quit, is not try."
Laura Kwasniak sometimes has to be the moderator at home between player and coach, because after all, she is still mother and wife.
"I always tell Quinn your dad's trying to push you and make you better," Laura Kwasniak said. "If he was satisfied with where you were, he'd stop and I don't think you're satisfied with where you are. So I think you'd rather him yell and and push you then to give up and stop."
The mother also has seen Babe push Turtle, but also knows the father doesn't have to tell the son to work hard.
"Babe does not push him to work hard," Laura Kwasniak said. "He pushes himself and that that's what's really amazing is somebody who pushes themselves like that and then to see a payoff, that's awesome."
Turtle says his work ethic is born out of his love for the game, but also his hatred of losing.
"I hate the feeling of losing more than I like the feeling of winning," Turtle Kwasniak said. "So I feel like winning, and just having fun, and just love for the game I would say is the first thing that just inspires me and pushes me to shoot every day."
The hard work and dedication have paid off, as Turtle is not only already a 2,000-point scorer with a full season left in high school, but one of the best to ever shoot the ball in Ohio high school history. He's been so good that even a former All-American wouldn't compare herself to him.
"I played basketball since I was really, really young," Laura Kwasniak said. "I was a bit of a shooter, but nothing like Quinn."
-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveoh
