Syracuse Basketball: J.J. Starling a year-two transfer breakout candidate, per expert

In the upcoming 2024-25 season, rising junior guard J.J. Starling will undoubtedly prove one of the leaders on the Syracuse basketball roster.

A Central New York native, the 6-foot-4, 206-pound Starling hails from nearby Baldwinsville, N.Y., and put forth a solid sophomore season for the Orange as a starter in the team's backcourt alongside former 'Cuse point guard Judah Mintz, who is pursuing a professional career.

In 2023-24, the Orange went 20-12 overall under first-year head coach Adrian Autry. In the second half of the last term, Starling turned it up a notch; he reached double-figures in scoring in 15 of the squad's final 16 games, attained multiple games of at least 20 points, and improved his shooting from 3-point land.

Starling was a five-star prep recruit and a four-star, top-10 prospect out of the transfer portal two cycles ago, when he elected to move from Notre Dame to the 'Cuse following his freshman season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Now with Mintz gone, and the Syracuse basketball roster experiencing a significant overhaul this off-season, Orange coaches will look to Starling to lead a talented 'Cuse backcourt. And a national writer thinks that J.J. is poised for a potential breakout campaign on the Hill.

Syracuse basketball guard J.J. Starling is positioned for a strong junior year.

In 2022-23, while at Notre Dame, Starling made the ACC's All-Freshman squad, as did Mintz. Last season, as a sophomore, Starling averaged 13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest, while he connected on 45.8 percent from the field, 32.4 percent from deep, and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Looking toward 2024-25, Starling is again expected to be in the starting rotation. The Orange's backcourt runs at least six deep. Four-star transfer Jaquan Carlos, a junior point guard from Hofstra, is also likely to be in the team's starting backcourt, from my perspective.

Amid the transfer portal's explosion, there have absolutely been examples of first-year transfers who have made a huge impact on their new team in that initial season. But as national writer Isaac Trotter of 247Sports and CBS Sports noted, "keeping a transfer for a second year has been a cheat code."

In a recent article, Trotter looked a various transfers who are top candidates to have break-out campaigns in their second year at their new program. Starling is included here.

Trotter wrote in part that Starling "averaged over 13 points per game with just a 19% usage rate by capitalizing on Mintz's elite shot-creation abilities. But Starling is capable of doing so much more, and his usage rate is about to spike with Mintz off to chase his NBA dreams."

Trotter says that given his well-built frame, Starling needs to become less reliant on shooting jumpers and attack the paint more. "Starling is too big, too strong and too explosive in transition to let opposing defenses off the hook," the national writer says.

In adding that "Carlos is more of a shooter than a driver," Trotter says this should provide ample space for Starling to get into the paint, relying on his athleticism and quickness to "create advantages" against opposing defenders.

Trotter sums it up by writing, "This is a huge opportunity for Starling to flex his muscles as Syracuse's top-of-the-scouting-report alpha dawg."

I adamantly agree with Isaac here. J.J. has shown that he can hit the mid-range jumper, and his 3-point shooting was much better in the second half of his sophomore season. At the same time, I do believe he shouldn't settle for jump-shots, but rather, create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates by aggressively attacking the lane.