Syracuse Basketball: Former 5-star J.J. Starling is a top-10 transfer in ACC

A top recruiting expert has Syracuse basketball sophomore guard J.J. Starling among his top-10 transfers in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

The 6-foot-4, 206-pound Starling, a Central New York native, transferred to the Orange this past spring after spending his freshman year at fellow ACC member Notre Dame. He was a bit inconsistent in 2022-23 and struggled with his shooting, but Starling still averaged about 11 points per contest as a newbie and made the ACC’s All-Freshman team.

In recent days, top national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw of recruiting service On3 published an article where he named his top-10 transfers in the ACC for 2023-24, with Starling arriving at No. 3 on this list.

By the way, former ‘Cuse guard Joe Girard III, who is spending 2023-24 as a graduate student at ACC school Clemson, was No. 8 on Shaw’s list. I’m wishing Girard nothing but a ton of success this upcoming term (except when the Tigers play the Orange).

Syracuse basketball guard J.J. Starling is poised for a special sophomore season.

In late September, Shaw included Starling in a story where he looked at 10 “sleepers who could hear their names called in the first round of the NBA Draft.”

At the start of 2023-24, which begins in early November for Syracuse basketball, Starling and sophomore point guard Judah Mintz, who was also on the ACC’s 2022-23 All-Freshman team, are expected to make up the Orange’s starting backcourt, which is stacked with athleticism, depth and versatility.

In his freshman year with the Fighting Irish, J.J. Starling dealt with knee and shoulder injuries for a sub-par Notre Dame group. Syracuse basketball first-year head coach Adrian Autry recently said at the team’s annual media day that his 2023-24 roster is in good health.

Starling, last season, averaged 11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per encounter, while connecting on 42.1 percent from the field, 29.9 percent from 3-point land and 63.8 percent from the free-throw line.

"Shaw, in his recent piece on the top transfers in the ACC, wrote in part, “Starling is a strong guard. He is comfortable on the ball in the half-court, and he is confident as a scorer. As a freshman, he was not efficient at either. That said, a change of scenery in a familiar environment could be good for Starling. He is a year older, and the former McDonald’s All-American is a talented basketball player. As he becomes more efficient, how quickly can he and Mintz find their cohesion? There is a lot of juice in this backcourt, which is bringing some pre-season excitement around the program. In order for the Orange to live up to some of the hype, Starling will need to take that step.”"

Without question, J.J. Starling is quite familiar with the Syracuse basketball program. Before heading to Notre Dame, he was a standout at Baker High School in Baldwinsville, N.Y., and played his junior and senior seasons at the powerhouse La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind.

In the 2022 recruiting cycle, Starling was a five-star, top-25 national prospect and a McDonald’s All-American as a senior at La Lumiere. He also earned high marks for his play on the AAU circuit with the Albany City Rocks in Nike’s EYBL league, a grassroots basketball squad that has sent numerous of its alumni to the Orange.

The ‘Cuse coaching staff offered J.J. Starling a scholarship in August of 2019 and hosted him on two official visits to the SU campus. Syracuse basketball was in his final five, although he committed to the Fighting Irish.

Long-time Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey, who recruited J.J. Starling, stepped down at the helm of the Fighting Irish after 2022-23, so Starling hit the NCAA’s transfer portal and committed to the Orange shortly thereafter.

In the off-season, recruiting services rated him as one of the top transfers nationwide, and J.J. Starling certainly enters 2023-24 as one of the best transfers in the ACC. I’m stoked to see what he, Mintz and the rest of the ‘Cuse backcourt can do this coming season.