Joe Girard Talks Notre Dame & Top 6
Notre Dame, Duke, Michigan, Boston College, Syracuse and Penn State were the primary beneficiaries when Joe Girard III recently announced his top six, but virtually all of the programs that offered the 2019 high-scoring point guard out of New York were glad to see him take the next stage of the process.
“I think it’s just fair to everybody,” Girard said of cutting his list to six. “I’ve heard from a lot of coaches that the best answer is obviously yes, but the next best answer is no.
“You don’t want to string them along and lead teams on that you know you’re not going to go to. I think it’s good that I finalized it and made it official.”
Girard pointed to the potential fits with the Irish, Blue Devils, Wolverines, Eagles, Orange and Nittany Lions as the biggest reason they made the cut.
“Obviously, I want to go somewhere I can showcase my talent, but also fit in with my teammates and have the opportunity to win both league and national championships,” he said. “I just want to be able to fit in, contribute to winning. I want to be able to win.”
Notre Dame is a school that’s had his attention for a long time and that only ramped up when Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey extended a scholarship this spring. Brey and Girard were able to work on the court together earlier this month during tryouts for Team USA U-18 National Team in Colorado Springs.
“Just having people who play like me in the past who have excelled and done great things there and the culture they have at Notre Dame and obviously, Coach Brey,” Girard said as to what helped the Irish earn a spot among his finalists.
“He coached me a little bit at USA, just a lot of stuff he said and taught me. I just really felt he helped me with my game and like I said, the people they had who have gone through there like Matt Farrell and many others like me who have had success in their system.”
While it’s helpful to see a player with similarities enjoy success at a school he’s looking at, Girard, who has drawn comparisons to another high-scoring guard from Glens Falls – Jimmer Fredette – isn’t trying to copy anybody else. In fact, one of his mottos is to “be different.”
“It’s just something I picked up throughout my career,” he explained. “I don’t want to be the same as anybody else. Everybody else nowadays seems like they’re going to prep schools or doing this and that, specializing in one sport. I just want to be different. Right now, I’m staying here at Glen Falls. I’m going to play basketball and football.”
As a star quarterback for Glens Falls’ football team, some have compared him to another past dual-sport standout, Greg Paulus, who played basketball at Duke before playing football at Syracuse.
“I just want to win,” Girard continued. “I want to be able to play as many games as I can and win as many championships as I can. I’m a 6-foot-1 guard who shoots it. I have to be able to separate myself and be different in other ways. There are a lot of people who can do a lot of that, but you have to be different and be able to showcase your talent. That’s what I’ve been doing and that’s kind of my motto.”
Girard had been focused on travel league and USA tryouts and now football is around the corner. Still, he hopes to make at least one more round of trips before making a final decision.
“Right now, I don’t have any visits planned. I might try to do some. I’m not sure when or how because of football. Obviously, July is busy, but I’m going to try to do some and see these places one more time.”