Girard shrugs off homecoming boos in win: "Glad they had their fun, and we had our fun”

Girard had a sweet homecoming on the court despite some boos from the crowd. (Photo: Mark Konezny / USATODAY)

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Sun Feb 11 07:00:03 GMT-04:00 2024

Syracuse's student section welcomed Joseph Girard III back with a chorus of boos as he took the floor Saturday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Girard had the last laugh, however, leading the Tigers to complete the road ACC sweep this week in a 77-68 win.

Girard transferred intraconference from Syracuse to Clemson this offseason as a graduate after playing 125 games over four seasons with the Orange. He scored 1,652 points in a Syracuse uniform, starting 123 games.

Before his time in that shade of orange, the Glens Falls, New York native was named NY's Mr. Basketball and the MaxPreps Male National Athlete of the Year, as he also won multiple state championships in football around averaging as much as 50 points a game in basketball.

On Saturday, Girard crossed the threshold of 2,000 career points at the college level, scoring a game-best 18.

Girard heard the boos from the same crowd that cheered for him with the majority of those points, and he put a finger to his mouth to shush the offenders in the 23,050 in attendance after one of his five makes in six shots Saturday.

"I’m an emotional player no matter where I’m at," Girard told reporters postgame. "Had it been another crowd, even somewhere else, who's booing me, I probably would have done the same thing. It’s nothing personal.

"Glad they had their fun, and we had our fun."

Reporters on site noted that Clemson as a team cheered on Girard a little extra during the introductions while the boos cascaded down. Clemson head coach Brad Brownell didn't like what he was hearing.

"I was a little disappointed in the boos," Brownell said. "I mean, I get it. The students especially. That’s just normal stuff. I hope, and I think, a lot of the fans are probably Joe Girard fans and weren't booing him."

Brownell says Girard handled the homecoming well overall.

"I think he handled it very well. Folks need to know that he loves this place tremendously," Brownell said. "He's never said anything otherwise down at our place...This place will always have a special place in his heart, but college athletics is different right now. And there was a (coaching) change here. He wanted to try something different, and obviously, we're very thankful that he did because he's helped our team tremendously.

"Not only as a player but just his maturity. His approach. The way he goes about his business. Team guy. Everybody gets along with him. And I think it's been really good for him. I think he's really grown through the process. Moving away, being a little bit out on his own. Having to figure things out and adjusting to a little bit different lifestyle. Certainly adjusting to a new coach and a different style of play.

"Those are all things that are going to help him moving forward and that's part of why he made the decision. This was not an easy trip back for him. I certainly hope the Syracuse people feel special for Joe Girard, because I know he feels that way about them."

Girard ranks second only to PJ Hall with his 15 points per game this season, connecting on 42.8% of his 3-point attempts. In the wins this week at UNC and Syracuse, Girard knocked down nine 3-point attempts and averaged 19.5 points per game, also averaging five rebounds and dishing five total assists.

Girard told reporters postgame that he wasn't aware of how many points he needed to reach the 2,000-point mark, but with some late free throws to seal the game, he did just that before a host of family members.

"God works in mysterious ways," Girard said. "I've always said it. He really came through tonight. It was a lot of fun. I hadn't thought about 2,000 (points) too often. I knew it was within reach before the season -- had all things gone to plan. To have it here, I'm at a loss for words and don't know what to say. It's just crazy how it all works out."

The Tigers look to stretch their longest ACC winning streak to three next with a home game versus Miami on Wednesday (7 p.m./ESPN2).