Former Syracuse guard Joe Girard announces transfer to Clemson

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Former Syracuse guard Joe Girard announced via Twitter that he will be transferring to Clemson after four seasons with the Orange. Girard recently narrowed his decision down to the Tigers and Louisiana State University.

Girard, who entered the transfer portal and submitted his name to the NBA Draft processlast month, chose to use his fifth year of eligibility. He registered 297 3-pointers with a 36.3% career percentage from behind the arc throughout his Syracuse career. In his final season with SU, Girard notched 88 3s and averaged 16.4 points per game as the starting shooting guard alongside Judah Mintz. Girard also spent two seasons playing at the point guard position.

A Glens Falls, New York, native, Girard had chosen Syracuse over 24 other Division-I offers after being named the Basketball Coaches Association of New York’s Mr. Basketball. Coming out of high school, Clemson did not recruit him. He finished his career at Glen Falls by scoring the 10th-most points in school history. 

Girard immediately made an impact with the Orange. As a freshman he made 32.3% of his 3-pointers and averaged 12.4 points per game. In his final season with Syracuse, Girard tallied a season-high six 3-pointers in SU’s conference win over Georgia Tech on Jan. 21. 

Girard was going to be one of five guards on the roster, along with Justin Taylor, JJ Starling, Quadir Copeland and Chance Westry if he returned. Though Mintz joined him in declaring for the NBA Draft, the rising sophomore still has the option to come back to Syracuse.