Syracuse Basketball: 4-star J.J. Starling monster effort vs. top-ranked team

Syracuse basketball prospect and Central New York product J.J. Starling has gone up against the country’s top-two teams over the last two days.

Starling’s squad, the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., unfortunately has dropped both of those contests in the 2021 Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament in Montverde, Fla., but he is really playing well.

The 2022 four-star prospect, one of the premier point guards nationwide in this cycle who received a scholarship offer from the Orange over the summer of 2019, finished with 18 points and two assists on Friday night, as No. 19 La Lumiere School fell, 64-48, to the Montverde Academy, which is No. 1 nationally in the latest MaxPreps top-25 poll.

Against the country’s top-ranked group, Starling led his team in scoring and suited up for 32 minutes. He connected on 6-of-13 from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe, per statistics from legitstats.com.

Syracuse basketball 2022 four-star target J.J. Starling is shining versus top-notch competition.

On Thursday, as we previously detailed, the La Lumiere School lost to the No. 2 Sunrise Christian Academy from Bel Aire, Kan., 77-53, in the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament.

The Sunrise Christian Academy roster includes one-time ‘Cuse target and 2021 five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler, who is having a tremendous season so far.

Versus the country’s No. 2 unit, despite the setback, Starling tallied 26 points in 32 minutes, according to legitstats.com. Assuming my math is correct, that gives Starling a combined 44 points in two contests against the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 squads.

That’s mighty impressive for Starling, who transferred to the La Lumiere School from Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, N.Y.

On Saturday at 3 pm, Starling and his teammates at the La Lumiere School will try to get in the win column within this stellar prep-school tournament.

The La Lumiere School is set to face the Wasatch Academy out of Mount Pleasant, Utah. The Wasatch Academy, No. 8 nationwide according to the most recent MaxPreps top-25 ballot, features former Syracuse basketball target Roddy Gayle Jr., a 2022 four-star shooting guard who is headed to Ohio State.