Syracuse Basketball: 2019 guard Joe Girard III commits to the Orange

Syracuse Basketball lands the team’s third recruit for the class of 2019 after Joe Girard III announces his intentions to join the Orange.

2019 three-star shooting guard Joe Girard III has announced his commitment to Syracuse over Duke, Michigan, and others. Girard has become the third commitment to Jim Boeheim’s 2019 recruiting class that also includes 4-star shooting guard Brycen Goodine and 3-star center John Bol Ajak.

Girard is surely a unique prospect, and perhaps the most intriguing high school basketball player in the entire country.

The Glens Falls, New York native achieved inconceivable feats in the first three years of his high school career. As a junior, Girard posted north of 50 points per game, likely the highest points-per-game mark high school basketball has seen in recent memory. Moreover, Girard averaged 7.8 three-pointers per game last year. He also averaged seven rebounds and six assists per contest. Inevitably, Girard was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of New York.

So, why is Girard not a 5-star prospect?

Girard, as previously mentioned, hails from Glens Falls, New York where he attends Glens Falls High School. In a small town of less than 15,000 not far from the Vermont border, competitive basketball is scarce. Girard will rarely defend a Division I prospect while playing for his high school.

The 6’2″, 170-pound guard found his competition over the summer, where he competed for City Rocks (NY) on the Nike EYBL Circuit. Girard averaged 12.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Girard’s scoring abilities certainly didn’t translate once he matched up against tougher competition, but his summer statistics were nonetheless respectable on some level.

And that’s the biggest concern for many college coaches: his college readiness. Yet, Hall of Fame coaches Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski believed in Girard’s talents enough to offer him a scholarship. At one point or another, Girard, as these coaches may have suspected, will be an elite scorer in college.

If you haven’t heard of Girard’s name yet, anticipate him on becoming one of the most widely-reported high school basketball players this coming season. One can only wonder how much better the senior can do than his 50 points per game from last season.