Q & A with 2022 PG JJ Starling
JJ Starling is one of the top point guards in the 2022 class and has schools across the country battling for his services. We spoke to Starling to get an update on his recruitment.
Q: How has your transition been from Baldwinsville to La Lumiere?
Starling: "It's been a really good experience. A lot of learning points. I knew coming in I was going to grow as a player, I just didn't know how much. They really proved me wrong because I grew way more than I expected. Just having the right teammates around me and playing the right competition. Doing the right stuff in practice as far as drills and workouts and stuff like that. I've grown on and off the court. The community here is such a great community. I've grown as a person and as a better teammate. Shooting wise, I became way more efficient and just scoring in general. I became way more aggressive on both the offensive and defensive end."
Q: What is your relationship like with the Syracuse coaching staff?
Starling: "My relationship with them is a very strong relationship because I've known them for so long. It's my hometown. The relationship is definitely there and it's strong. They text a lot, just checking in what to see how I'm doing, but not too much that it's like they're bugging me or anything, which they're not of course. I definitely have a really strong relationship with coach G-Mac and coach Autry. It could be a variety of things. Sometimes they reach out to say 'we need you' or 'we really want you' but other times it could be in a joking manner. A few minutes ago, coach Autry reached out and we were talking about music. It's just little things like that."
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Q: Do you have any visits scheduled and will Syracuse get a visit?
Starling: "I'm still trying to talk to my parents to discuss what schools I should visit. Right now, I haven't had any schools in a definitely visiting list, but I'm definitely looking forward to talking to my parents and seeing where my head is at. For sure (Syracuse has a good shot at getting a visit). They were one of the first schools to reach out about a visit."
Q: Besides Syracuse, what other schools are coming after heavily recruiting you?
Starling: "Maryland, UConn for sure, Stanford, there's more than that. There's a lot of schools prioritizing me and it's an amazing feeling."
Q: How will you decide which schools get visits and which make the cut whenever you trim your list?
Starling: "Just talking to my parents and my coaches. Getting insight from them. Especially my coaches because they've been in this business for a long time. They know what to look for in a college. They know my play-style and colleges play-style, so they'll know the right fit for me. As far as research on my end, just looking at players they have coming in and what role they'd have me playing as. That's going to be a big key point for me."
Q: When are you looking to make a decision?
Starling: "I haven't really come up with a set time period. I'm trying to take things slow. This summer is going to be huge, we have Peach Jam coming up. I'm just trying to focus on trying to win and be the best teammate for my team. As far as making a decision, I haven't really thought about a specific time period."