Syracuse Basketball: Joe Girard III era is officially upon us

Syracuse basketball will have a new starting lineup this weekend. Here’s why it’s officially Joe Girard III time for Orange Nation.

It took 45 minutes and 28 seconds for Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim to make a change to his 2019-20 starting lineup.

It’s now officially Joe Girard III time on the hill.

In game one Syracuse’s offense was awful vs Virginia. The team only mustered 34 points, but despite all the deficiencies, it seemed like the Orange got a pass based on the opponent’s reputation.

That wasn’t the case in game two vs Colgate on Wednesday night.

Jalen Carey got the start, as he has throughout the offseason (foreign trips, exhibition play, and early in the regular season), but 5:28 into the first half, the experiment was over.

After going 0-for-2 from the field, committing a dumb foul, and coughing up two turnovers, coach Boeheim had seen enough.

Jim pointed to JG3 and threw him in the game to replace JC and he never looked back.

"“I thought Joe (Girard) did a good job of maintaining. He didn’t score a lot but he did a good job defensively and overall he stabilized us a bit.”"

Overall Joe played nearly 19 minutes, was 2-of-6 from the field, finished with five points, four assists, and snagged three steals. But beyond the stats, JG3 simply passed the eye test.

With JG3 out this means the Jalen Carey experiment is officially over. When asked after the game to assess Jalen’s play thus far and what he needs to do, Jim Boeheim gave a cold answer:

"“Did you watch the game? Then you don’t need to ask that question. (silence), Joe (Girard) will be starting Saturday.”"

Over the first two games, Girard has been coming off the bench. In the second half vs Colgate, he was plugged in as the starter and made some things happen for himself and his teammates.

After the game, Joe tried to remain stoic, but he couldn’t hide his excitement for this new opportunity that comes with bigger expectations:

"“Whenever I’m on the court I want to make something happen. Coach Boeheim has been preaching that it doesn’t matter when you go in the game or how long you’re in the game, you just have to make an impact. So whether I have to score or I have to distribute to my teammates or play defense, I’ll do what my team needs.”"

Something that has really helped JG3 is his background as a prolific quarterback in high school. He’s used to distributing to his teammates and seeing them in the open field:

"“A lot of people questioned why I played both sports (football and basketball) up until my senior year and the biggest thing for me is they both benefit each other. Playing point guard and quarterback goes hand-in-hand it has really helped me see the field better. I’ve always loved playing both sports and that’s going to really help in the transition offense this year.”"

Now he’ll have to get used to getting his mojo going from the opening tipoff:

"“It’s going to help me get into the flow of the game quicker (starting as opposed to coming off the bench), I just want to make an impact whenever I’m out there. Everyone wants to play as much as they can and help the team win. Being a starting point guard for Syracuse has always been a dream of mine, but at the same time I have to focus and help my team win ball games.”"

Despite not lighting up the scoreboard JG3 made an impact on the game. The biggest difference between Jalen Carey and Joe Girard is the perimeter shooting.

Carey hasn’t proven that he can hit from deep, so opponents don’t respect it and can defend him differently. While Joe can hit from deep so opponents have to treat him differently which opens up the rest of his game:

"“For sure they have to respect the deep ball. Something that has been under-appreciated for a long time is my ball handling. A lot of times in high school people didn’t think I could handle the ball at the next level. My shot is definitely a benefit for me.”"

Syracuse will play Seattle on Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. That’s where JG3 will make his debut as the new starting point guard for the Orange in 2019.