Senior guard Max Guercy joins 1,000-point club
Guercy’s impressive record today is the product of him persisting through two strenuous seasons as an underclassman. The 5-foot-9-inch guard’s freshman and sophomore years were riddled with recurrent alterations in Rice’s coaching staff and frequent losses.
According to Guercy, his formative years were bridled with difficulties, but he persevered.
“My first two years were rough — we only won five games my freshman year and seven games my sophomore year. I learned a lot through always being there and being a competitor.”
A shift came, however, when Rice hired Mike Rhoades as a new head coach at the end of Guercy’s sophomore year. According to Guercy, Rhoades’ dedication and fast-paced coaching style resulted in him acquiring his impressive statistics.
“Rhoades wants us to have a more up-tempo game, which allowed me to accumulate a lot of assists,” Guercy said. “Throughout this season and last season, the whole new staff believed in me and I was able to trust in my teammates.”
Guercy said his record is the natural byproduct of his desire to contribute to the team and play well.
“The points come along with making the right plays and reads,” Guercy said. “The stats just come along with me going out and playing hard every night.”
Although Rice has lost its first three conference games, the team has a large portion of the season left and hopes to compete in the NCAA tournament. Guercy said that he is hopeful about the remainder of the season.
“We were on the road for our first three conference games, but now we’re able to come back and play in front of our home crowd,” Guercy said. “I’m still looking forward to the rest of the year, I think we’ll be ready by the middle or end of conference.”
At Rice, Guercy is both a seasoned basketball veteran and a strong student: He is a three-time Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipient. According to Guercy, he wants to continue to serve as a leader and role model on the team while excelling academically during his final semester.
“I want to finish strong academically at Rice,” Guercy said. “I want to continue improving as a player and a leader; I think I can help the younger players with my experience.”
After graduating, Guercy said he hopes to continue playing the sport he loves abroad and follow in the footsteps of Rice basketball alumnus Seth Gearhart (’15), who currently plays professionally in Switzerland.
“I want to play overseas, like [Gearhart],” Guercy said. “I love this game, and I want to continue playing.”
Guercy declined to discuss his overseas prospects, however, as he is barred from speaking to any agents until the conclusion of his NCAA career.
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