Joseph Girard III, Syracuse transfer, hearing from 4 SEC programs
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Joseph Girard III is one of the more interesting names to enter the transfer portal so far. The former Syracuse guard was easily its best offensive player last season and a 38% shooter from range.
Girard announced he would be transferring from Syracuse Friday following a less than ideal regular season and the retirement of Jim Boeheim. And though it’s only been a day or 2, Girard is already hearing from at least 4 SEC schools wanting him to play for them next season.
Tennessee, LSU, Auburn and Florida have all reached out to Girard alongside the likes of Indiana, Pitt, BYU, Nebraska, Stanford and Ohio State.
Schools that have reached out to @Cuse_MBB transfer @JG3_____ Joe Girard
Averaged 16.4 ppg and shot 38% from 3
Indiana
Pitt
Tennessee
Auburn
Butler
LSU
Florida
Ohio State
Loyola Chicago
Stanford
Clemson
Nebraska
BYU https://t.co/MMXFsVrnBY— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 25, 2023
Where is the best fit?
At face value, the answer seems to be Auburn or LSU.
The (Auburn) Tigers were a consistent shooter away from being a legitimate threat to the top of the SEC this past season. It’s not as simple as this, but move Girard over to Auburn and he’d have been their best 3-point shooter by a considerable margin. Not to mention he fits right into Auburn’s preference of drawing fouls and making the opposing team pay from the charity stripe.
LSU shoots the most 3-pointers of any team listed and also prefers to get to the line as much as possible. Not to mention if it’s playing time Girard is looking for, Baton Rouge is probably his best option.
Tennessee makes sense at face value, but it’s well known that Rick Barnes will not allow you to see the court unless you lock in defensively. And despite his prowess on offense and this being the exact type of player Tennessee needs, it doesn’t seem likely that he would see the court for 30+ minutes in that system as he is a subpar defender.
Where will he end up? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
