GLENS FALLS — Gerry McNamara’s message to the player he’s been recruiting for months was a wedding vow.

“I do.”

Joe Girard III announced his verbal commitment to Syracuse on Sunday night inside the Queensbury Hotel with the words, “I’m going to stay at home.” But he said afterward that his real vow was an “I do” to Syracuse because McNamara kept saying “I do” in texts and during in-person recruiting visits. His intent: Say yes and have “a marriage with Syracuse.”

The all-time leading scorer in New York state basketball history, Girard III bolsters Syracuse’s 2019 recruiting class. He’s the class’ third, joining guard Brycen Goodine and center John Bol Ajak. He chose the Orange over Boston College, Duke, Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State.

It helps that Girard III’s father, Joe Girard Jr., called his son a mirror image of McNamara. “Joe is Gerry,” he said. They are both quick guards who love to shoot, and they both grew up within a three-hour drive of SU. McNamara made visits to Girard III on Sept. 28 and Oct. 4. Girard III said he saw some of himself in McNamara, who started on SU’s 2003 national title team.

Syracuse wanted Girard III, a high school senior, and McNamara pushed him to think about the possible success of his life prospects, what his future could hold and the type of player he could become. Girard III said the driving forces behind his decision were the venue, proximity to home and the possibility to play a lot of minutes early in his college career. And McNamara’s wedding vow.

“They have something special going on there that I want to be a part of,” Girard III said after his decision. “There’s nothing like playing in the (Carrier) Dome in front of 30K, nothing like putting Orange on. They’ve had a lot of great guards there. I could be the next one.”

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Thinking about which school he would choose without basketball, Girard said he’d elect Syracuse, where he intends to study at the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications. He said that solidified his decision.

“I wasn’t stressed about it,” Girard III said of the decision. “I was actually having fun with the process.”

At 7:09  p.m., the Adirondack Room went silent. More than 100 people packed into the room past the hotel’s lobby, sitting on round tables, in chairs and on the floor. Others stood in the back. Girard III wanted his decision to run counter to the growing trend of posting on Instagram or Twitter. Instead, his father said, he wanted his teammates, classmates and local residents to see him make the biggest decision of his life in person. As Girard III and his parents entered the room, his mother, Arlene, teared up.

The “special presentation,” a video, began with Girard III dribbling around chairs as a young boy. It progressed to his high school years — he’s been a varsity starter at Glens Falls High School since the eighth grade, scoring 3,306 points so far. He averaged 50 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game as a junior last season.

Then, in the video, Girard III said: “I’m going to play in the best conference in the country: the ACC. With the best venue in the country and the best fans.”

The video stopped and Girard III grabbed the microphone behind a podium in the front and center of the room.

“With that being said,” he told the people in front of him, “I’m going to stay at home like I did in high school, committing to coach (Jim) Boeheim and Syracuse.”

He unzipped his Nike sweatshirt with the Glens Falls basketball logo on it to reveal the orange “S” shirt underneath. He grabbed the hat, positioned in the center of his six choices.

A loud applause came. Many people stood up to cheer. Then, Girard III began signing autographs and hugging community members who lined up a couple dozen deep.

“Congratulations,” a young fan said.

“What’s up buddy?” Girard III said as he high-fived him and posed for pictures.

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When Glens Falls announced Tuesday that the decision would be made Sunday night, Girard III hadn’t made a decision yet.

Girard Jr. said he set the deadline to prevent it from dragging into the Section II football playoffs, which begin next weekend. All six schools remained on the table, which Girard Jr. said created plenty of tension.

“Him and I would get in arguments, it came to that point to where sometimes we didn’t like each other,” Girard Jr. said. “Sometimes, I would have to take the dad hat off and play coach.”

They spoke throughout the week until the deadline of Saturday came. For the video to be done in time for Sunday night, Girard III needed to decide. He finalized his selection on Saturday night. Only three other people in Girard III’s inner circle knew the decision prior: his mother, father and his grandmother.

Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer

After the announcement, Girard III snuck a few glances at his phone, now littered with more than 100 messages. He didn’t have time to read them all, but he picked out a few key names.

McNamara sent a group text to Arlene, Joe Jr. and Girard III, saying: “Let’s go baby!!!,” followed by a series of orange emojis.

Once he had a moment to scroll through more texts, he stopped on a name: Jim Boeheim. Syracuse’s 43-year head coach said: “Really happy here in the cuse! Hope you guys have a great night.”

He continued scrolling, stopping on his future teammate, Buddy Boeheim. Boeheim and Girard III have played City Rocks AAU basketball together for the last two years: “Let’s go bro!! Great decision can’t wait to get back on the court with you.”

The final text he opened came from Syracuse assistant coach Allen Griffin, who wanted Girard III to call him. The other messages will have to wait.

When asked what he’d tell Griffin, Girard III said: “I can’t wait to say that I’m ready to wear orange and blue, ready to win a few national titles, a few ACC championships.”

Published on October 14, 2018 at 7:06 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21