Joe Girard passes 2 NBA players to become NY State’s top scorer
This was six years ago, before Joe Girard III became New York State’s all-time leading scorer. Before he developed into a coveted Division I prospect and state championship-winning quarterback. Before he became a teenage celebrity in his own town.
At the age of 11, Girard won the 40th Elks National Hoop Shoot Contest, and a television station ran a piece on him. The premise: “Have we found the next Jimmer [Fredette]?”
That’s when the hype began — at the ripe age of 11 — when Girard, a Glens Falls native, already was being hailed as the small upstate town’s next superstar, following in the footsteps of Fredette, a former NBA player and BYU sharpshooter. It skyrocketed when Girard, as an eighth-grader, scored 31 points in his first varsity game, reminding his father of the pressure Fredette faced years earlier.
Remarkably, Girard has surpassed those insanely high expectations. This week, he took it to another level, passing Brooklyn’s Lance Stephenson’s 2,946 career points as the state’s all-time leading boys’ basketball scorer. And he did so as a junior, with plenty of games left. Girard had 2,952 points after scoring 44 in the game in which he broke the record.
“It’s just been crazy,” the 6-foot-2 guard said in a phone interview. “My phone gets so hot because there are so many notifications coming in I have to turn it off.”
The achievement, however, has set off a debate over how deserving Girard is of the record, considering Glens Falls High School is a Class B school — the third highest in state classifications — while Stephenson’s school, Abraham Lincoln, was Class AA, the top classification. Girard, a three-star prospect, has read the criticism on social media, and brushes it off. If anything, it only pushes him to score more.
“They have the right to voice their opinion, but it fuels my fire,” said Girard, who is averaging an absurd 49.6 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 16 games this year. He has led Glens Falls to a 14-2 record and has hit more than 400 3-pointers in his high school career.
Those close to Girard understand the questions, but will point out he isn’t your typical small-school star. It’s not as if he passed Stephenson in the last game of his career. He’s going to wind up putting quite a large amount of distance between them.
If it was so easy to wrack up huge point totals, why haven’t other players done so, his father, Joe Girard Jr., wondered. Unlike Stephenson, who was physically superior to most high school opponents, Girard is known for his sweet jump shot.
He plays elite-level AAU basketball as part of the Albany City Rocks team that competes on the prestigious Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuitand qualified for Peach Jam last summer.
He has played up in age with them the previous two years, excelling on a team full of Division I prospects, and was top five in the EYBL in 3-point percentage and 3-pointers made last year.
City Rocks coach Jim Hart will follow his players during their high school seasons, and they will rarely follow huge games with other prodigious performances. Girard, though, never seems content.
“He has a killer mentality,” Hart said. “His mental focus and preparation is different. He’s probably got zero heartbeat or sweat before games. He’s never going to shy away from the bright lights or the big moment.”
After all, he now has scholarship offers from the likes of Michigan, Oklahoma, Washington, Syracuse and St. John’s. Duke and Villanova have expressed interest. He has been offered the chance to play both football and basketball by Tulane and Massachusetts, though he has yet to decide if he wants to attempt to do so.
One college coach declared Girard a no-doubt, high-major prospect capable of making an impact at the next level.
“He shoots it off the catch and the dribble. He’s tougher than leather,” said the coach, who wasn’t sure if Girard can be a point guard at the next level, believing his skill set is better suited off the ball, and raised concerns about his inability to defend.
Toughness shouldn’t be a question. Like Stephenson, Girard was expected to be great before he stepped onto a high school basketball court. Everyone was gunning for him. On the football field, he has led Glens Falls to a 24-1 mark as its starting quarterback, and was named the New York’s Class B football Co-Player of the Year this winter.
It’s hard for him to be a normal kid. After games, there will be a long line of fans waiting for him to sign autographs and take pictures. He can hardly walk around Glens Falls without getting stopped.
None of it, however, has slowed him down. He’s embraced the pressure.
“I have all eyes on me,” Girard said. “I can’t mess up.”
Coaches from St. John’s and Duke were at the Archbishop Molloy-Christ the King game in Middle Village on Friday night that was televised live on ESPNU.
St. John’s will play host to the entire Christ the King team for Saturday’s game against Duke at the Garden, highlighted by top junior target, four-star forward Kofi Cockburn, and elite freshman forward Moussa Cisse. The Johnnies will also have five-star juniors Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis of the Ranney School (N.J.) and local sophomores Zed Key , Gary Grant and Nate Tabor , among others, as visitors for the game.