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Men's basketball

Joe Girard’s postseason improvements fly under radar in Syracuse backcourt

Courtesy of Brett Wilhelm | NCAA Photos

Joe Girard III dribbles past a San Diego State defender. Girard had 12 points against the Aztecs.

By Anthony Dabbundo

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Joe Girard II boarded his 6:30 a.m. flight out of Albany, New York on Southwest Airlines on Friday morning. After a layover in Baltimore, Girard II landed in Indianapolis International Airport just a few hours before Syracuse played San Diego State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. 

He only booked a one-way flight. Return date to be determined.

Girard II has been at every Syracuse road game but one this season. He went to blowout losses at Pittsburgh, Clemson and Virginia. He missed the Orange’s road win at North Carolina State, and he sat courtside as they rolled NC State and nearly beat Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament to secure their NCAA Tournament spot a few days later. 

He has seen first-hand the up-and-down play of Syracuse all season. But as much as the Orange’s resurgent March play is due to Buddy Boeheim’s breakout offensive performances, Joe Girard III — Buddy’s roommate, friend and backcourt partner — is playing his best basketball of the season. 



Girard II booked a return flight back to Glens Falls, New York early Monday morning after the Orange’s win against West Virginia. After a full week of work, he’ll make at least one more trip to Indianapolis this weekend, as No. 11 seed Syracuse (18-9, 9-7 ACC) will play No. 2 seed Houston (26-3, 14-3 American Athletic) on Saturday night for a spot in the Elite Eight. While Buddy has gained national notoriety for his red-hot shooting performances, Girard has posted 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds in each NCAA Tournament game. When Buddy picked up his second foul in the opening round, Girard’s 10 straight points on 3s and a free throw propelled the Orange into a double-digit lead against San Diego State. When West Virginia made a late first-half charge on Sunday, Girard’s 3 and subsequent finger over his mouth stopped the run and quieted the Mountaineers’ fans in the crowd. 

“This team is very resilient. They never gave up on themselves,” Girard II said. 

Most of the Orange’s players don’t show a ton of emotion or swagger on the court. Marek Dolezaj, Alan Griffin, Kadary Richmond, Robert Braswell and Buddy seldom show their emotions. Girard is the opposite. 

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He plays off the crowd whenever possible. He often talks to opponents in-game. Girard is the first to pump up the crowd and rile them after important baskets or stops. 

“If you look at Joe, it’s affected him the most positively,” Girard II said. “His energy is through the roof. They feed off of that.”

Girard and Buddy battled COVID-19 over the Orange’s extended pause at the end of December and in early January. While in isolation, Girard went for daily walks to rebuild his strength and keep his energy levels up. But when Syracuse returned, both he and Buddy struggled to play their best basketball. The Orange lost three of four games, collapsing against the Panthers at home and getting blown out at Pitt. It wasn’t until the 83-57 Miami win on Jan. 19 that Girard said he was feeling nearly 100% after recovering.

 

“The disease just made me really tired,” Girard said on Jan. 19. “And even following it up until now, there are days where I’m waking up and getting out of bed, and if I sit back down, I feel like I could fall asleep at any time.”

He went through a rough patch in shooting most of the year, only shooting 32% from the 3. But since the postseason began, Girard has made 10-of-27 from 3 and improved even more in assisting and rebounding. Even with some struggles, Girard has always maintained his place in the starting lineup. SU head coach Jim Boeheim said he still trusts Girard because of his production as a freshman, and that trust has been rewarded this March.

“He got us to 18 wins last year. Without him, we would have never got there,” Boeheim said. “I have a lot of loyalty to players in our program who have done stuff for us.”

What else you should know before Syracuse takes on Houston:

Boeheim said Girard’s tournament performances are “probably underrated.” When the sophomore point guard is making shots, it opens up the entire offense and provides room for others.

All of Girard’s scoring has come in the first halves of the two NCAA Tournament games, when Buddy was either in foul trouble or struggling to make shots against WVU. But Girard’s improved performances in the stretch run haven’t just been scoring. He’s distributing the ball better and helping the Orange get in transition more because he’s getting more rebounds. Syracuse is third in offensive efficiency in the entire country this month in part because Girard has had many of his best games of the year in SU’s six March games.

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Girard had 12 points in the No. 11 Syracuse’s upset over No. 2 Virginia.Courtesy of Jack Dempsey | NCAA Photos

Girard II said his son is maturing and learning how to better play the point guard position. At Glens Falls High School, Girard was a volume shooter and scorer — he holds the state record for most career points in New York high school history. One year after starting in the ACC as a freshman, Girard has evolved into his role as a passer in his sophomore season. 

Girard successfully ran ball screens and helped to create size mismatches for Buddy on the perimeter. Buddy said that he had the best looks he’s had in a month against West Virginia because Girard and Dolezaj sliced through the WVU defense and forced switches, even when WVU head coach Bob Huggins didn’t want his team to switch. 

“He’s doing the other stuff he wasn’t doing before if he had a bad day,” Girard II said.

Girard II called his son’s performance “all-world” on Sunday. Boeheim said he was “really good.” It’s much different than just three weeks ago, when Boeheim remarked that Girard had posted multiple bad games in a short stretch after the loss to Georgia Tech. 

It wasn’t too late to save the season after the loss to the Yellow Jackets. And while “Buddy Buckets” is a national phenomenon after his breakout performances this month, “Logo Joe” Girard has assisted on eight of Buddy’s 13 3-point makes in the last two games while pouring in seven 3s of his own. 

Though Girard II is almost out of vacation days for the year in March, he’s ready to run it back with another one-way flight to Indianapolis this weekend. 





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