SWC75
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Guards
BUDDY BOEHEIM Sophomore 6-5 or 6-6 188-195
Buddy’s forte is outside shooting. With Frank Howard injured, he was our best shot at a three point game and so got some early playing time. But he didn’t take much advantage of it, missing 28 of his 36 treys in the pre-conference games. It was suggested by some at Syracusefan.com that he was only on the team because his father was the coach. But then Buddy relaxed more and actually improved in the conference season, hitting 39 of 97 three pointers for 40%. Some of those were because defenses were backing off of him, daring him to shoot. When he started hitting, that changed and it wasn’t as easy. But he kept hitting the occasional three and sometimes just got hot. What pleased his father the most is that he was now drawing defenders away from his teammates and from the paint.
He also showed a good knowledge of what was happening on the court. He wasn’t really quick but made up for it on defense by positioning himself well and playing the passing lanes. He also had the height to grab an occasional rebound. In Italy he played 57 minutes, and scored 39 points with 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls. He was 10 for 32 from three point range. He’ll be battling five other guards for playing time but he’s played more minutes than any of them and the others will be battling it out for the point guard spot first so he’ll probably be the likely starter at the two guard.
JALEN CAREY Sophomore 6-3 168-180
Carey was the top recruit in last year’s class and early on, he looked like a coming star. When the team played Connecticut and Oregon back in his home town of New York City, he shined, scoring 26 points with 7 rebounds, (but no assists), against the Huskies and 14 points, 3 rebounds and an assist against the Ducks. Unfortunately both games were losses and the fact that he had only one assist in two games while playing the point was one reason why. He was greased lightning with the ball and very athletic but he wasn’t a distributor. (He’s one of many two guards Boeheim keeps recruiting to try to convert them to point guards. Talented high school players tend looking at the hoop more than at their teammates. )
He never had another game like those, never scoring more than 4 points in any game. He had two big problems beyond the lack of distribution: holding onto the ball and shooting it. He had 25 assists and 41 turnovers on the year and shot 17% from the three point line, (4 for 23). He lost his knack of dribbling past defenders as the defenders got better and defenses were primed to stop him and he had a weak handle so when he got tangled up in the defenses, he often lost the ball. His jump shot was very flat, meaning that the ball had to be right on target to go in and he never got anything on the bounce. He did show an interest in playing defense, although he had trouble adjusting to Boeheim’s zone. He had 16 steals and 4 blocks while averaging 12 minutes a game in 25 games.
Some posters have said that he will be “handed the key to the car” this year as the only point guard with any experience, (except for Howard Washington, below). I see the positon as wide open. In Italy, he looked much as he did in those games in Madison Square Garden, except he looked more for his teammates, scoring 37 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and passing for 15 assists with and 6 steals. He had 5 turnovers but just one foul in 50 minutes. He was just 1 for 5 from three point range. The good thing about college sports is that players can improve. Sometimes they come back the next year as totally different players. But that was against mostly bad teams and he was 1 for 5 from three and had 5 turnovers. So we’ll see how much different Carey really is this year.
I couldn’t find SU highlights from last season but his high school highlights are more interesting anyway:
BEST SCORING GUARD IN NJ?? Jalen Carey Early Season Highlights!!!
They show his athleticism, penetrating ability and defensive tenacity. They also show, (mostly toward the end of the highlights, a jump shot with a higher arch to it than we saw last year. He’ll never be a dead-eye but if he can occasionally hit a trey, it would round out his game.
HOWARD WASHINGTON Sophomore 6-3 174-175
Howard was also left off of SU’s roster by Lindys. But he’s used to it, as he’s missed a lot of things. His backstory: He’s from Buffalo and always wanted to go to SU. But Boeheim and the staff wanted Quade Green from Philadelphia. Howard reluctantly committed to Butler. John Calipari swooped in and convinced Green to go to Kentucky, where he was a disappointment. (Green then transferred to Washington to play for his original recruiter, Mike Hopkins) Howard decommitted form Butler and signed with the Orange. He helped make up for the early absence of Frank Howard last year. He wasn’t all that productive but had started to get a feel for the college game and assert himself more when he tore up his right knee in practice and had to have a season ending operation. That was just the beginning of his problems:
Syracuse’s Howard Washington reveals chilling story: ‘I had a stroke’
He’s now back and able to play but he hasn’t played in a season and a half and he was not a highly recruited player to begin with. From what I saw, he has solid but unspectacular skills. I see him as a “break glass in emergency” guy who probably won’t be part of the regular rotation but still has three years left and could develop into a rotation player during his career here, especially if some of the guys ahead of him leave early. In Italy, Howard played 34 minutes, scored 14 points with 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals 4 turnovers and 2 fouls. He was 1 for 4 from three point range.
High School Highlights:
Howard Washington highlights triple double vs Ridley
That looked pretty good but I was more impressed with his interview:
Howard Washington Post Game
He sounds to me like a leader and a student of the game, maybe a coach someday. I’m sure that he has the full respect of the team. That’s why I think he could become our point guard at some point in the future. But he has a lot of completion this season.
BRYCEN GOODINE Freshman 6-3 or 6-4 170 -183
Bryson is a classic Boeheim tall guard. He loves them for the way they can play the perimeter of a zone with their long arms. He’s still another guy who was at best a combo guard in highs school who Jims wants to be a point guard at Syracuse. Goodine is a good enough player to have competed in both three point shooting and dunk contests at the high school all-star level. He didn’t score 50 points a game like Joe Girard but he was a higher rated recruit and could turn out to be the better college player. In Italy he played 56 minutes, scored 34 points with 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 6 steals, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls. He was 7 for 24 from three point range.
I think he’ll be Jalen Carey’s main competition for the point while Girard will push Boeheim at the ‘2’ guard spot.
Highlights:
It's TOO EASY for Syracuse Commit Brycen Goodine!! | Shows Out with BABC
I like his quick release on his shot, which has a higher arch than Carey’s. He’s an explosive athlete. But can he distribute? Can any of them?
JOE GIRARD III Freshman 6-1 180-181
The most intriguing of the new players is Joe Girard III, by far the most prolific scorer we’ve ever recruited, maybe that anybody has ever recruited. Two years ago, he became the sixth high school player in US history to average 50 points a game for the season. Last year he only averaged 48 – and led his team to the state championship – in both basketball and football, where he was an all-state quarterback. Joe actually had a five year high school basketball career because he was allowed to play on the varsity as an 8th grader. Here are his yearly averages: 21.7, 33.9, 36.4, 50.0 and 48.6. His career average as a high school player is 39.0 points per game.
Here is a list of the top ten scorers in US history in points per game in a season, (as of 2015):
Top 10 single-season high school basketball scoring averages, including Bjorn Broman's 7th-place finish
Here is the list for total career points:
Top 100 high school boys basketball scorers of all time - MaxPreps
(Joe is #10, in the video clip)
Don’t feel embarrassed if you don’t recognize most of those names. You’re not alone. Almost all of them played for small schools in the south where they played far more games than are played in New York State. They were small fish in tiny ponds and when they went to the next level, they were nothing special They may have also had trouble adjusting to being the focal point, (and sometimes the entirety) of their teams offense to being part of a team. I think these considerations are why Joe has a recruit ranking as low as 201st in the country and 3 stars, per 2-47 Sports. (ESPN has him 82nd and 4 stars and Rivals #41 at shooting guard and 3 starts. Scout doesn’t seem to have a ranking).
But there are reasons to think that Joe is the real deal. Glens Falls High School isn’t the top level of New York State basketball- the school size is Class B, the third highest level. But that’s still a bigger school with probably better completion than most of those deep south kids that appear on the all-time scorers lists above. Joe has gone to New York City to play in the Dyckman Tournament and held his own:
Joe Girard III: NY's Scoring Leader Pulls Up to Dyckman | SLAM Day in the Life
He’s also played on prominent AAU teams and showed he could blend in with others:
Nike EYBL: Joe Girard III adjusting to a new role with his City Rocks (N.Y.) team
He’s not the only prominent basketball player to come out of Glens Falls High: Jimmer Fredette, the national collegiate player of the year for Brigham Young in 2011. Jimmer was slightly bigger than Joe: 6-2 195. His yearly scoring averages at BYU were 7.0, 16.2, 22.1 and 28.9. He went on to play 5 years in the NBA before becoming a big star in China. Jimmer scored a then impressive 2,404 points at Glens Falls, a figure Joe has almost doubled. His highest scoring average there was 29.3. He did top Joe when he played the City Rocks AAU team and averaged 25.2ppg to Joe’s 11. Here they are working out together:
Joe Girard III works out with Glens Falls legend Jimmer Fredette
The other player to which Joe is compared is his lead recruiter, Syracuse legend Gerry McNamara. Gerry was listed as 6-2 182 in his playing days here, (I think he was closer to 6 feet even). He scored 2,917 points in high school. His scoring totals at Syracuse were not in Jimmer’s class: 13.3, 17.2, 15.8, 16.0 but he was on better and more balanced teams and he had some legendary games, such as hitting 6 three pointers in the national title game against Kansas – all in the first half. Then there was his 43 point game against, of all teams, BYU in the NCAAs the next year, numerous game winning or at least game-changing shots and a dramatic series of performances in the Big East Tournament in Madison Square garden his senior season to get one of Jim Boeheim’s worst teams into the NCAA tournament. Even if Joe isn’t Jimmer, Gerry will do just fine, thank you.
The fact that Joe was a championship football quarterback shows his physical toughness and leadership, qualities that Jim Boeheim gushed about in describing him. “He’s a tremendous player,” Boeheim said of Girard. "He’s player of the year in the state. He led his team to state championships in basketball and football. He’s a tremendous competitor. He has an adjustment. He’s coming from a smaller league. But he’s an unbelievable competitor and shooter. We need shooting. I think he’ll be able to help us right away.” (Syracuse.com)
Girard’s high school career ended in fairy tale fashion as he eluded three defenders to score the winning lay-up in overtime.
Joe Girard leads Glens Falls (NY) to first state title
I watched that game and Girard dominated the ball, handling it 75% with carte blanche to shoot as soon as he crossed the midcourt line if he had a shot he thought he could make, (pretty much all of them). He had stretches of missed shots but it did nothing to stop him from continuing to shoot knowing that he’d hit eventually. He showed strong dribbling skills and a quick step when he wanted to get by someone. He looked like a mediocre passer who wasn’t really looking to set-up his teammates that much. But neither his teammates nor the opposition was anything like Division I collegiate composition: he was his teams primary weapon and he played like it.
It will be interesting to see him make the adjustment to college ball. In Italy he played 52 minutes and scored 40 points with 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. He was 11 for 25 from three point range. But he also had 5 turnovers and 6 fouls. I think this guy will make it here and he may make it bigger than anyone we have. Or he may just blend in well with the rest. But I think he will be a productive player for us. He’s not going to be one of those high scoring high school players who were a bust in college.
Here they are all playing together in the Orange vs. White scrimmage that got the season underway on October 11th:
Highlights | Orange vs. White
(There’s no sound to this clip.)
I’m impressed that we have 12 guys. I’m impressed that we have 12 guys who can play. I’m impressed that we have 12 guys who can score. I think the team as a whole will have a high basketball IQ and should be able to make their skills in the various combinations fit together. I think we’ll see the pick and roll which is supposed to be a big part of this offense but was impossible to run with Chukwu. I think we’ll see a lot of outside shooting. It may grow cold at times but when it’s on we are liable to blow somebody out – even somebody good. The team showed a fast pace in Italy and Boeheim indicated that he’d like to get back to running the fast break, which has been absent from this team that used to be famous for it since the 2012 season. We pressed more in Italy and caused a lot of turnovers. We’ve got the depth to do that. We even played some man for man, (but don’t get your hopes up). My big questions are defense and rebounding. The new big men have to show that they can do those things as well as score and all the newcomers will have to learn the intricacies of Boeheim’s famous zone. But think this will at least be a fun team to watch, which is something we really couldn’t say about the recent teams. I don’t think they will be national title contenders such as we had in the early part of this decade but I also don’t think they will be the sort of bubble team that we’ve had in the latter part of the decade.
I expect to be curious, not nervous on selection Sunday.
BUDDY BOEHEIM Sophomore 6-5 or 6-6 188-195
Buddy’s forte is outside shooting. With Frank Howard injured, he was our best shot at a three point game and so got some early playing time. But he didn’t take much advantage of it, missing 28 of his 36 treys in the pre-conference games. It was suggested by some at Syracusefan.com that he was only on the team because his father was the coach. But then Buddy relaxed more and actually improved in the conference season, hitting 39 of 97 three pointers for 40%. Some of those were because defenses were backing off of him, daring him to shoot. When he started hitting, that changed and it wasn’t as easy. But he kept hitting the occasional three and sometimes just got hot. What pleased his father the most is that he was now drawing defenders away from his teammates and from the paint.
He also showed a good knowledge of what was happening on the court. He wasn’t really quick but made up for it on defense by positioning himself well and playing the passing lanes. He also had the height to grab an occasional rebound. In Italy he played 57 minutes, and scored 39 points with 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls. He was 10 for 32 from three point range. He’ll be battling five other guards for playing time but he’s played more minutes than any of them and the others will be battling it out for the point guard spot first so he’ll probably be the likely starter at the two guard.
JALEN CAREY Sophomore 6-3 168-180
Carey was the top recruit in last year’s class and early on, he looked like a coming star. When the team played Connecticut and Oregon back in his home town of New York City, he shined, scoring 26 points with 7 rebounds, (but no assists), against the Huskies and 14 points, 3 rebounds and an assist against the Ducks. Unfortunately both games were losses and the fact that he had only one assist in two games while playing the point was one reason why. He was greased lightning with the ball and very athletic but he wasn’t a distributor. (He’s one of many two guards Boeheim keeps recruiting to try to convert them to point guards. Talented high school players tend looking at the hoop more than at their teammates. )
He never had another game like those, never scoring more than 4 points in any game. He had two big problems beyond the lack of distribution: holding onto the ball and shooting it. He had 25 assists and 41 turnovers on the year and shot 17% from the three point line, (4 for 23). He lost his knack of dribbling past defenders as the defenders got better and defenses were primed to stop him and he had a weak handle so when he got tangled up in the defenses, he often lost the ball. His jump shot was very flat, meaning that the ball had to be right on target to go in and he never got anything on the bounce. He did show an interest in playing defense, although he had trouble adjusting to Boeheim’s zone. He had 16 steals and 4 blocks while averaging 12 minutes a game in 25 games.
Some posters have said that he will be “handed the key to the car” this year as the only point guard with any experience, (except for Howard Washington, below). I see the positon as wide open. In Italy, he looked much as he did in those games in Madison Square Garden, except he looked more for his teammates, scoring 37 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and passing for 15 assists with and 6 steals. He had 5 turnovers but just one foul in 50 minutes. He was just 1 for 5 from three point range. The good thing about college sports is that players can improve. Sometimes they come back the next year as totally different players. But that was against mostly bad teams and he was 1 for 5 from three and had 5 turnovers. So we’ll see how much different Carey really is this year.
I couldn’t find SU highlights from last season but his high school highlights are more interesting anyway:
BEST SCORING GUARD IN NJ?? Jalen Carey Early Season Highlights!!!
They show his athleticism, penetrating ability and defensive tenacity. They also show, (mostly toward the end of the highlights, a jump shot with a higher arch to it than we saw last year. He’ll never be a dead-eye but if he can occasionally hit a trey, it would round out his game.
HOWARD WASHINGTON Sophomore 6-3 174-175
Howard was also left off of SU’s roster by Lindys. But he’s used to it, as he’s missed a lot of things. His backstory: He’s from Buffalo and always wanted to go to SU. But Boeheim and the staff wanted Quade Green from Philadelphia. Howard reluctantly committed to Butler. John Calipari swooped in and convinced Green to go to Kentucky, where he was a disappointment. (Green then transferred to Washington to play for his original recruiter, Mike Hopkins) Howard decommitted form Butler and signed with the Orange. He helped make up for the early absence of Frank Howard last year. He wasn’t all that productive but had started to get a feel for the college game and assert himself more when he tore up his right knee in practice and had to have a season ending operation. That was just the beginning of his problems:
Syracuse’s Howard Washington reveals chilling story: ‘I had a stroke’
He’s now back and able to play but he hasn’t played in a season and a half and he was not a highly recruited player to begin with. From what I saw, he has solid but unspectacular skills. I see him as a “break glass in emergency” guy who probably won’t be part of the regular rotation but still has three years left and could develop into a rotation player during his career here, especially if some of the guys ahead of him leave early. In Italy, Howard played 34 minutes, scored 14 points with 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals 4 turnovers and 2 fouls. He was 1 for 4 from three point range.
High School Highlights:
Howard Washington highlights triple double vs Ridley
That looked pretty good but I was more impressed with his interview:
Howard Washington Post Game
He sounds to me like a leader and a student of the game, maybe a coach someday. I’m sure that he has the full respect of the team. That’s why I think he could become our point guard at some point in the future. But he has a lot of completion this season.
BRYCEN GOODINE Freshman 6-3 or 6-4 170 -183
Bryson is a classic Boeheim tall guard. He loves them for the way they can play the perimeter of a zone with their long arms. He’s still another guy who was at best a combo guard in highs school who Jims wants to be a point guard at Syracuse. Goodine is a good enough player to have competed in both three point shooting and dunk contests at the high school all-star level. He didn’t score 50 points a game like Joe Girard but he was a higher rated recruit and could turn out to be the better college player. In Italy he played 56 minutes, scored 34 points with 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 6 steals, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls. He was 7 for 24 from three point range.
I think he’ll be Jalen Carey’s main competition for the point while Girard will push Boeheim at the ‘2’ guard spot.
Highlights:
It's TOO EASY for Syracuse Commit Brycen Goodine!! | Shows Out with BABC
I like his quick release on his shot, which has a higher arch than Carey’s. He’s an explosive athlete. But can he distribute? Can any of them?
JOE GIRARD III Freshman 6-1 180-181
The most intriguing of the new players is Joe Girard III, by far the most prolific scorer we’ve ever recruited, maybe that anybody has ever recruited. Two years ago, he became the sixth high school player in US history to average 50 points a game for the season. Last year he only averaged 48 – and led his team to the state championship – in both basketball and football, where he was an all-state quarterback. Joe actually had a five year high school basketball career because he was allowed to play on the varsity as an 8th grader. Here are his yearly averages: 21.7, 33.9, 36.4, 50.0 and 48.6. His career average as a high school player is 39.0 points per game.
Here is a list of the top ten scorers in US history in points per game in a season, (as of 2015):
Top 10 single-season high school basketball scoring averages, including Bjorn Broman's 7th-place finish
Here is the list for total career points:
Top 100 high school boys basketball scorers of all time - MaxPreps
(Joe is #10, in the video clip)
Don’t feel embarrassed if you don’t recognize most of those names. You’re not alone. Almost all of them played for small schools in the south where they played far more games than are played in New York State. They were small fish in tiny ponds and when they went to the next level, they were nothing special They may have also had trouble adjusting to being the focal point, (and sometimes the entirety) of their teams offense to being part of a team. I think these considerations are why Joe has a recruit ranking as low as 201st in the country and 3 stars, per 2-47 Sports. (ESPN has him 82nd and 4 stars and Rivals #41 at shooting guard and 3 starts. Scout doesn’t seem to have a ranking).
But there are reasons to think that Joe is the real deal. Glens Falls High School isn’t the top level of New York State basketball- the school size is Class B, the third highest level. But that’s still a bigger school with probably better completion than most of those deep south kids that appear on the all-time scorers lists above. Joe has gone to New York City to play in the Dyckman Tournament and held his own:
Joe Girard III: NY's Scoring Leader Pulls Up to Dyckman | SLAM Day in the Life
He’s also played on prominent AAU teams and showed he could blend in with others:
Nike EYBL: Joe Girard III adjusting to a new role with his City Rocks (N.Y.) team
He’s not the only prominent basketball player to come out of Glens Falls High: Jimmer Fredette, the national collegiate player of the year for Brigham Young in 2011. Jimmer was slightly bigger than Joe: 6-2 195. His yearly scoring averages at BYU were 7.0, 16.2, 22.1 and 28.9. He went on to play 5 years in the NBA before becoming a big star in China. Jimmer scored a then impressive 2,404 points at Glens Falls, a figure Joe has almost doubled. His highest scoring average there was 29.3. He did top Joe when he played the City Rocks AAU team and averaged 25.2ppg to Joe’s 11. Here they are working out together:
Joe Girard III works out with Glens Falls legend Jimmer Fredette
The other player to which Joe is compared is his lead recruiter, Syracuse legend Gerry McNamara. Gerry was listed as 6-2 182 in his playing days here, (I think he was closer to 6 feet even). He scored 2,917 points in high school. His scoring totals at Syracuse were not in Jimmer’s class: 13.3, 17.2, 15.8, 16.0 but he was on better and more balanced teams and he had some legendary games, such as hitting 6 three pointers in the national title game against Kansas – all in the first half. Then there was his 43 point game against, of all teams, BYU in the NCAAs the next year, numerous game winning or at least game-changing shots and a dramatic series of performances in the Big East Tournament in Madison Square garden his senior season to get one of Jim Boeheim’s worst teams into the NCAA tournament. Even if Joe isn’t Jimmer, Gerry will do just fine, thank you.
The fact that Joe was a championship football quarterback shows his physical toughness and leadership, qualities that Jim Boeheim gushed about in describing him. “He’s a tremendous player,” Boeheim said of Girard. "He’s player of the year in the state. He led his team to state championships in basketball and football. He’s a tremendous competitor. He has an adjustment. He’s coming from a smaller league. But he’s an unbelievable competitor and shooter. We need shooting. I think he’ll be able to help us right away.” (Syracuse.com)
Girard’s high school career ended in fairy tale fashion as he eluded three defenders to score the winning lay-up in overtime.
Joe Girard leads Glens Falls (NY) to first state title
I watched that game and Girard dominated the ball, handling it 75% with carte blanche to shoot as soon as he crossed the midcourt line if he had a shot he thought he could make, (pretty much all of them). He had stretches of missed shots but it did nothing to stop him from continuing to shoot knowing that he’d hit eventually. He showed strong dribbling skills and a quick step when he wanted to get by someone. He looked like a mediocre passer who wasn’t really looking to set-up his teammates that much. But neither his teammates nor the opposition was anything like Division I collegiate composition: he was his teams primary weapon and he played like it.
It will be interesting to see him make the adjustment to college ball. In Italy he played 52 minutes and scored 40 points with 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. He was 11 for 25 from three point range. But he also had 5 turnovers and 6 fouls. I think this guy will make it here and he may make it bigger than anyone we have. Or he may just blend in well with the rest. But I think he will be a productive player for us. He’s not going to be one of those high scoring high school players who were a bust in college.
Here they are all playing together in the Orange vs. White scrimmage that got the season underway on October 11th:
Highlights | Orange vs. White
(There’s no sound to this clip.)
I’m impressed that we have 12 guys. I’m impressed that we have 12 guys who can play. I’m impressed that we have 12 guys who can score. I think the team as a whole will have a high basketball IQ and should be able to make their skills in the various combinations fit together. I think we’ll see the pick and roll which is supposed to be a big part of this offense but was impossible to run with Chukwu. I think we’ll see a lot of outside shooting. It may grow cold at times but when it’s on we are liable to blow somebody out – even somebody good. The team showed a fast pace in Italy and Boeheim indicated that he’d like to get back to running the fast break, which has been absent from this team that used to be famous for it since the 2012 season. We pressed more in Italy and caused a lot of turnovers. We’ve got the depth to do that. We even played some man for man, (but don’t get your hopes up). My big questions are defense and rebounding. The new big men have to show that they can do those things as well as score and all the newcomers will have to learn the intricacies of Boeheim’s famous zone. But think this will at least be a fun team to watch, which is something we really couldn’t say about the recent teams. I don’t think they will be national title contenders such as we had in the early part of this decade but I also don’t think they will be the sort of bubble team that we’ve had in the latter part of the decade.
I expect to be curious, not nervous on selection Sunday.
