The television announcers called Joseph Girard III a basketball legend in Glens Falls.
It was not hyperbole.
Anyone who regularly saw Girard’s prestigious scoring displays when he played basketball here couldn’t help but wonder how that might translate at the Division I level.
I got my first chance to see Girard play on television Wednesday night when Syracuse played an unbeaten Oklahoma State team at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was clear Girard belonged on the big New York stage.
He was usually the smallest player on the court Wednesday night, but while playing just his sixth game of Division I college basketball, he played more minutes than any other Syracuse player (35). His 12 points were second on the team and his nine assists led the team.
You have free articles remaining.
For me, the biggest difference between Girard the high school player and Girard in college was his point guard play. At Glens Falls, he regularly handled the ball, but it almost always resulted in a shot. In his new role, Girard is trying to find open teammates.
He is currently averaging 4.2 assists a game to go along with his 10.8 scoring average. I suspect both those numbers will go up as the year goes on.
Although Syracuse lost Wednesday, it has a young team. It appears that Girard will be a big part of it going forward.
Syracuse will be playing Penn State in Brooklyn on Friday at 6 p.m.
Post a comment as
Report
Watch this discussion.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Comments will not be posted if any of the following rules are violated:
- Comments must be contained to the topic of the articles only.
- Comments must be civil in tone and cannot contain personal insults directed toward another reader.
- Profanities cannot be used, including abbreviations or acronyms.
- Comments critical of crime or accident victims, or imply guilt are not allowed.
- Comments that are potentially libelous, including those that contain accusations not supported by facts are not allowed.
- Comments that appear to be taunting others who comment are not allowed.
- Comments should be brief and never more than 1,000 characters.