College basketball's top ACC transfers heading into 2023-24
1. JJ STARLING, SYRACUSE
It’s always a big deal to land a five-star recruit. In this case, first-year Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry gets a former five-star recruit heading into his second year of college basketball. Starling was the No. 22 overall recruit in the country, and the top-ranked transfer heading to the ACC checks in as the No. 5 overall transfer according to 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings. An inter-ACC transfer from Notre Dame, Starling averaged 11.2 points per game as a freshman and could step into a role where he can use a bit more of his creativity.
8. JOSEPH GIRARD, CLEMSON
Another inter-ACC transfer, Girard arrives at Clemson from Syracuse. Clemson’s formula has worked pretty well with the Tigers’ ability to space the floor from 1-through-5, and BartTorvik projects the kind of Clemson team that could compete for an NCAA Tournament spot in 2023-24. Enter Girard, a terrifically experienced player with 123 starts over four seasons and 297 career 3-point makes. That includes 89 and 88 makes over the last two seasons, when he shot 40.3% and 38.1%, respectively, averaging 13.8 points and 4.2 assists as a junior, then 16.4 points and 3.0 assists last year. The No. 47 overall transfer doesn’t just look like a good transfer, but a potentially excellent fit.
10. CHANCE WESTRY, SYRACUSE
With the return of Judah Mintz and the addition of Starling and Westry, Syracuse could have a really fun up-and-down type team with a backcourt that boasts size and creative potential from multiple spots. The No. 75 overall transfer, Westry was the No. 44 recruit in the 2022 class before playing a limited role at Auburn as a freshman, playing 9.5 minutes per game over the 11 games he played in and averaging 2.5 points and 1.0 assists per game. He also shot poorly, missing all 14 of his 3-point attempts and making 3-of-7 free throws. Both are small sample sizes, and Westry has enough shooting ability to take a leap there at Syracuse.