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Syracuse’s Joseph Girard III primed for breakout sophomore season
Joseph Girard III started in 30 of 32 games and finished his freshman season averaging 12.4 points per game for the Orange. (Photo: Syracuse University Athletics)

Syracuse’s Joseph Girard III primed for breakout sophomore season

GLENS FALLS, NY (BVM) — The Girard last name is well known to the natives of Glens Falls. From a young age, Joseph Girard III has been seen as the next Girard to follow in his family members’ athletic footsteps. 

Being next in line for Girard III hasn’t phased him. He’s never really felt the added pressure that people might have put on him to continue his family’s legacy.

“I never felt pressure to be honest with you,” Girard III said. “My whole family has been known in this area for as long as anyone can remember and I’ve had a lot of cousins, uncles and grandparents come through this area. Having our last name has definitely helped me carry on a legacy I think and fueled me even more.”

Girard III would first start on the Glens Falls varsity basketball team while he was in the eighth grade. It didn’t take long for him to make an impact, as he finished with 31 points and hit the game winning shot in his first varsity game. Over the years, his high school coach and cousin, Rob Girard, has had a front row seat to see his growth.

“He was always a good shooter,” Rob said. “As the years went on, he got stronger, his ball handling got better, his athleticism got better and he just improved every year. When he was an eighth, ninth, and 10th grader, it was exciting to score and everything, but as he became a junior and senior, he wanted to win more than anything else.”

Every basketball season seemed to bring a new milestone. In his junior season, Joseph Girard III passed basketball stars Lance Stephenson and Glens Falls native Jimmer Fredette for the most career points in New York. 

“It seemed like something new was coming every year and I personally didn’t really try and think about it,” Joseph said. “You see it everywhere with social media nowadays, or even the newspapers my grandmother and parents would see, it was just everywhere, so it was kind of hard to ignore.”

“There were so many of them,” Rob said. “When he scored his first 1,000 points, then 2,000, and 3,000, it seemed like we were giving him a basketball every year.”

During his senior season, Joseph would top the 4,000 point mark, finishing his career with 4,766 career points. He ranks first on the career points list in New York, setting the record in his junior campaign. 

“Being on a list with those guys, Lance Stephonson is on it, Jimmer [Fredette] is on it, guys like Chris Mullin, all the legends who came through New York, are on that list,” Joseph said. “To know that you are sitting at the top of it right now, is obviously astounding. But I’m young, I’m still 19, I got a whole career ahead of me that I’m hoping to put my name in the record books for even longer for other reasons. All those guys have been monumental names due to the success that they’ve had after high school and I’m trying to be remembered for the same at this point as well.”

To cap off his Glens Falls career on the court, Joseph led the Indians to their first Class B state championship. In the championship game, he sent the game to overtime with a game tying 3-pointer. His late game heroics would continue, as he finished with a layup at the buzzer to win the 2019 state title.

In total, Joseph Girard III helped lead Glens Falls to three Class B state championships helping on the football field as a quarterback and safety, for two of them.

After a storied high school career, it didn’t take long for Joseph to make his presence into the starting lineup at Syracuse. In his freshman season, Girard III was starting at point guard after just two games. His first season saw him start 30 of 32 games, while averaging 12.4 points per game for the Orange.

“I wanted to be able to come in and play valuable minutes to help the team win a lot of games,” Joseph said. “I just kept proving myself in the offseason and then the first two games, that I could help this team win and then that third game coach let me get the start. I had 24 points in my first-ever start and we won, so I think that was kind of the beginning of me realizing that I could help this team win and that I belong here.”

“By game three, he was starting and you know he struggled a little bit with his shooting this year just getting accustomed to taking over as point guard, but as the season went on, he got a better understanding of how the college game works,” Rob said. “I thought he had a great year, I just think that the sky’s the limit going forward.”

Joseph Girard III will look to build on his freshman year this offseason with the extra time off. After the season was cut short because of COVID-19, he has been staying in shape back at home.

“It was disappointing, we [just] played our best game going up against North Carolina being up by 30,” Joseph said. “Obviously wanted to keep playing and hopefully with our chances of winning the ACC Tournament and then making it into the NCAA Tournament would have been fun, but it just didn’t happen that way.”