Girard Answers Critics With Strong Performance
The critics were loud and plentiful of Syracuse sophomore guard Joe Girard. Girard has struggled mightily through the first four games of the season, save his outing against Niagara. In the first four games, Girard is shooting just 26% overall and 30.3% from beyond the arc. But that 30.3% is a bit misleading. Take away a 6-12 performance against Niagara, and Girard was just 4-21 (19%) in the other three games.
That, combined with defensive mistakes, led to many in the fan base and local media alike either calling for him to be benched in favor of Kadary Richmond or at least pondering if that should occur. Girard answered that criticism with his best outing of the season in Syracuse's 101-63 win over Boston College.
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Girard finished the game with 17 points on 6-8 shooting including 5-7 shooting from beyond the arc. He also helped in other ways with five rebounds, five assists and one steal. His defense was improved as well, as he was quicker in his rotations, more aggressive and energetic at the top of the zone.
While Girard used his play to defend himself during the game, head coach Jim Boeheim used his words to do so after it.
"I've been doing this 45 years but everybody out there knows who should be playing here except me," Boeheim said. "Let's just stick with the guys we know what they can do that have already proven themselves. If they really struggle for a long period of time, there will be some adjustments made. But you don't make adjustments after one game.
"It really helps Joe to have Buddy with him. They don't leave him, it leaves gaps. So I think it was good to get those two guys back together."
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With this sharpshooting performance, Girard is now up to 37.5% from beyond the arc on the season. A very good number especially with the volume of shots he takes. He has to be more consistent game to game, no question. But this was a very strong step forward that will silence the critics at least for now.
Syracuse is back in action against Buffalo on Saturday, December 19th. Tip time for that game is to be determined.
