JG3 Transfers to Clemson

Glens Falls local legend Joseph Girard III, nicknamed JG3, is still making headlines due to his prowess on the basketball court. His record-breaking high school career led him to Syracuse for four years, and now he has joined the Clemson Tigers for a fifth year of collegiate basketball!

Girard began his varsity career while in the 8th grade, when he averaged 21.7 points per game… Then, in his freshman year of high school, he began to get noticed by college coaches after he hit 122 3-pointers! His game continued to improve, and by his junior year he averaged 50 points per game and passed Lance Stephenson’s state record of 2,946 points scored. Girard finished his high school career with 4,763 points, and then committed to play at Syracuse University over offers from Boston College, Duke, Michigan, and Penn State.

This past spring, Girard graduated from Syracuse with a bachelor’s degree in athletic management, and has an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID pandemic – the NCAA granted college athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID impact on the 2020 to 2021 season. Girard played four seasons for Syracuse, averaging 13.2 points per game… He entered the transfer portal in March of 2023, and will be playing for Clemson as a graduate student. There, Girard will work on his master’s degree in athletic leadership, which would prepare him for coaching on the college level. 

Girard started 123 out of 125 games for Syracuse under coach Jim Boehiem, and averaged 13.2 points per game… When he entered the transfer portal, he instantly began receiving phone calls! The transfer portal allows student athletes to place their name in an online database declaring their desire to transfer to a different school. The athlete enters the portal by informing their current school of their desire to transfer, and then the school has two business days to enter the athlete’s name in the database. 

Since 2018, the transfer portal has completely changed the landscape for collegiate athletes… In 2022, 12,000 students entered the transfer portal. Along with increased transparency regarding the transferring process, there was also a rule change – in September of 2022, student-athletes who were transferring for the first time and in good academic standing could transfer their eligibility to their new school… Up until this point, student-athletes who transferred had to sit out a full season before getting an opportunity to play at the new school. The transfer portal provides more opportunities for student athletes to find a school that fits their needs, without losing a year of athletic competition.

Girard finished his career at Syracuse as the No. 2 all-time foul-shooter (.863), and was ranked third in 3-point shooting (297) in Syracuse history. With his choice to attend Clemson, Girard remains in the ACC, and will face off against Syracuse during the 2023 to 2024 season.