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Syracuse Basketball: Joe Girard excels in debut as starter in win over Seattle

ByPaul A. Esden Jr.|
SYRACUSE, NY - NOVEMBER 06: Joe Girard III #11 of the Syracuse Orange drives to the basket against the defense of Kihei Clark #0 of the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half at the Carrier Dome on November 6, 2019 in Syracuse, New York. Virginia defeated Syracuse 48-34. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY - NOVEMBER 06: Joe Girard III #11 of the Syracuse Orange drives to the basket against the defense of Kihei Clark #0 of the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half at the Carrier Dome on November 6, 2019 in Syracuse, New York. Virginia defeated Syracuse 48-34. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)

Syracuse basketball may have a brand new star in Joe Girard. Here are all the highlights from his marvelous debut as a starter vs Seattle.

The only roster change for the Syracuse basketball team is one we knew was coming: Joe Girard III is the new starting point guard.

Jim Boeheim announced this change after the game vs Colgate on Wednesday night. This meant Jalen Carey was being sent to the bench, no other change was made to the Syracuse starting lineup ahead of the game vs the Seattle Redhawks.

First half

A lot of people have compared JG3 to Gerry McNamara, a Syracuse legend around these parts. That talk is a bit early, I mean this guy hasn’t even played in any games yet, we should probably reign it in right?

WRONG!

A Syracuse offense that had been starting out cold was absolutely electric with Joe in the starting lineup. Other players stepped up with made baskets, the team was passing it around, and Joe Girard deserves a ton of credit for getting this Syracuse offense rocking and locking.

As a team, Syracuse started 6-of-7 from the field in the first four and a half minutes of the game. Then the heat continued, the Orange increased that to 10-of-11 from the field to increase their lead to 25-13 with under 12 minutes remaining.

Not only was the offense holding down its end of the court, but the defense was as well.

Now Seattle may not be the best opponent the Orange play this season, but they came into this game with a big reputation for putting up points. Hell in their last game they put over 100 on the board, but Syracuse played really well on both ends in the first half.

At the half, Syracuse led 44-26 over Seattle.

First-half takeaways:

  • Jalen Carey went from starter to ghost. While he was on the bench as an option, Jim Boeheim opted for other guards in his rotation.
  • While on the other side JG3 led both teams in points (13), didn’t miss a shot (4-of-4), collected four boards, an assist, and a steal.
  • In the first five minutes of the game, every Syracuse starter recorded a bucket, that’s efficient and effective.
  • Marek Dolezaj also stuffed the stat sheet: 7 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, and also didn’t miss a shot (3-of-3).
  • As a team, the Orange shot 62.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from beyond the arc (7-of-14).
  • The defense played exceptionally:
    • Held Seattle to 1-of-12 from deep.
    • Overall from the field, the Redhawks shot 27.3 percent (9-of-33).

    Second half

    To start the second half Joe continued to score and most importantly continues to look comfortable. Again you have to consider the level of opponent, but JG3 is making cash-money shots and passes.

    Perhaps the best look was a soft touch alley-oop to Bourama Sidibe who also continues to impress early in 2019-20.

    Although Seattle wouldn’t go away quietly, after shooting an atrocious percentage from long-range in the first half, they heated things up early in the second half going 6-of-7 to narrow the gap making it 59-48.

    The threes didn’t stop there as they got another one via a four-point play to make this an uncomfortable 61-54 game with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game.

    Although Joe helped stop the bleeding with a soft touch in the lane. Eventually, Joe did, in fact, miss a bucket which the Orange official twitter account had some fun with in the middle of the game.

    There’s no question Joe was magical in his starting debut, but Marek Dolezaj also had a career performance. His teammates searched him out early and often and he awarded their respect with winning plays on both ends of the court.

    In separate news, Syracuse legends visiting the dome continued on Saturday evening with Dion Waiters making his return to the salt city. Most recently Waiters was involved in a strange health scare on the Miami Heat team plane, he appeared to be doing just fine in his courtside seats.

    Final takeaways:

    • Joe Girard III is special:
      • 7-of-8 from the field for 24 points, 5-of-6 from downtown, 5-of-5 from the charity stripe, five boards, two assists, and two steals.
    • Marek Dolezaj also had a remarkable game in this one:
      • Perfect from the field (7-of-7) for 18 points, three steals, four assists, and a board.

        • Up next for the Orange they’ll continue to defend the dome vs Cornell on November 20 in the annual ‘Boeheim Bowl’. That is set for 7:00 p.m. next Wednesday.

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