It happened. Syracuse got him. Joe Girard III has verbally announced he is taking his talents to the 315.
Girard announced his commitment to Syracuse over Duke, Michigan, Notre Dame, Boston College and Penn State Sunday night. Take that Coach K.
What Syracuse is Getting
The 2017 New York Gatorade player of the year can score in bunches, drop buckets from downtown and is the leading scorer in New York high school basketball history by a wide margin.
Glens Falls High School Numbers
- 50.0 points per game in his junior season
- 3,306 career points. The only player in New York State history to reach 3,000 (friendly reminder he hasn’t played his senior season yet)
- First Section II player with multiple games of at least 60 points.
Now some of you might be thinking yeah “so what.” It’s a small New York public school. Those numbers don’t mean much. Perhaps that’s true to an extent. But, it’s worth mentioning, Jimmer Fredette played at the same high school and finished his career with 2,404 total points. Also, Girard does play for the Albany City Rocks Nike EYBL team as well.
City Rocks Numbers
- 22 GAMES
- 11.0 PPG.
- 37 % FGs, 35 % 3PFGs, 97% FTs.
His Game
Jimmer Fredette is an admittedly lazy comparison because he went to the same school as him, but he really does look like a Jimmer clone at times. He’s got the range, the quick release and a similar body shape (6’2, 170).
His Ratings
247sports.com:
- 3-star
- 89 overall grade
- 195th nationally in the class of 2019, 29th best combo-guard in the nation and 4th best player in state of New York.
ESPN:
- 4-star
- 81 overall grade
- Outside the ESPN 100. 22nd best combo-guard in the nation. 10th best player in state of New York
Rivals:
- 4-star
- 40th best guard in the 2019 class
Best Case: Four-year player who can come in off the bench and add scoring punch right away. Blossoms into a scorer with a similar game to his main recruiter, Gerry McNamara. To be clear, I‚Äôm not saying he‚Äôs going to be one of the best players in Syracuse history–just the style of his game. The ceiling for Girard is probably around 18 points per game as a senior and an All-ACC selection. Take that with a grain of salt.
Worst Case: He struggles to shoot off-the-dribble and find separation at the college level. Needs to round out his defense and add more to his scoring arsenal in two-point territory. He hardly plays as a freshman, gets some time as a sophomore and winds up being a nice role piece/three-point shooter as an upperclassmen.
The Updated 2019 Class
Guard: Brycen Goodine (69th in ESPN 100)
Center: John Bol Ajak (371st on 247sports.com)
Guard: Joe Girard (195 on 247sports.com)
Still After:
Quincy Guerrier (Forward): 48th on 247sports.com, has SU in top 3. Boeheim visited him Sunday. 
Akok Akok (Forward): 39th in ESPN 100
Qudus Wahab (Center): 132nd on 247sports.com
Isaiah Stewart (Center): 4th in ESPN 100. Visited SU this week. 
Kofi Cockburn (Center): 31st in ESPN 100
Dimon Carrigan (Center): Eastern Florida State JUCO Transfer, 3-star
