Joseph Girard III was on the golf course Friday when he learned what will be the next step in his basketball journey.
A day after the NBA draft wrapped up, Girard’s agent, Adam Godes, called him and said he had been signed to play for the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Summer League.
The NBA Summer League is a showcase for aspiring pro basketball talent, scheduled for July 12-22 in Las Vegas.
“Honestly, I’m just going in with not really much expectations, I’m just going to go out there and play my game,” Girard said by phone Sunday afternoon. “I did well enough in the workout for (the Raptors) to bring me back for their Summer League team. Just be a high-character guy, be a good teammate and obviously do what I do on the basketball court.”
The former Glens Falls star recently completed his college career at Clemson, taking the opportunity to play a fifth year with his COVID eligibility after starting for four years at Syracuse.
People are also reading…
The smooth-shooting combo guard is back in Glens Falls this week, preparing to head out to Las Vegas, probably by July 9, he said.
“I took a few days off right before the draft — I moved out of Clemson and came home to Glens Falls,” Girard said. “I’ve been working out with my dad again in Glens Falls at the gym, and going to start going to Siena College a few days a week to work out.”
Girard played for Syracuse when new Siena head coach Gerry McNamara was an assistant for former Orange head coach Jim Boeheim.
Post-college whirlwind
To say the last two months have been busy for the young man known as JG3 is an understatement.
Between regular workouts and finishing up his Master’s coursework for his degree in athletic leadership, Girad had pre-draft workouts in early June with four teams: the Raptors, New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Utah Jazz.
The Raptors were obviously interested in the fiery, competitive 23-year-old guard who averaged 15.1 points per game while starting all 36 games for Clemson this past season. He finished his college career with 2,196 points (13.6 ppg) over five seasons, including 402 3-pointers — but at 6-foot-1, Girard knows his physical limitations.
“I knew I wasn’t going to get drafted or anything, but the workout went well enough,” Girard said. “I did well enough to talk to them after the workout, watched some film with them. There’s the mental testing, like memory and all that kind of stuff. I had one of the highest scores they’ve seen in a long time, so they really liked that. Just being a high-character guy, locker room guy, as well.”
Going from very good college player to potential pro such a short span has not left much breathing room for Girard.
“It’s definitely come so fast,” he said. “This is one of those years where you don’t really get a break, because you go right from your (college) season to doing all the workouts and pre-draft stuff after that. It’s been fast, but I’m just taking it day by day and not taking it for granted, because growing up, this is what everybody dreams of, so be happy about it.”
Girard’s father, Joe Girard Jr., said by text, “It’s an amazing achievement to get this far! Not easy to make any type of NBA roster and JG3 did it! We are grateful and blessed for him to be a part of this experience.”
Summer League explained
The NBA Summer League, beginning its 20th summer, is held at the Thomas & Mack Center and Pavilion at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
All 30 NBA teams participate in the league, each team playing five games over the course of 10 days — four regular games between July 12-19, then the top four teams play in a playoff on July 21-22. The other 26 teams play one game on July 20 and 21.
The league is focused on individual player performance — a showcase for players who are fighting to stick with an NBA team, or get more playing time on their club, or just get more experience.
“It’s some of the G-League guys, guys from the NBA team in their second year, some of the rookies obviously that got drafted or signed,” Girard said. “It’s usually the younger guys who are still trying to find reps or trying to make a roster somewhere.”
Room, board and training is all paid for by the team, as well as a per diem allowance for players.
Local fans can follow Girard’s games on television or live streams. All of the games played in the 11-day Summer League showcase will air live on one of the ESPN platforms or NBA TV. Every game will also be available to stream on the ESPN app.
Toronto is scheduled to open play on July 13 against Oklahoma City at the Pavilion at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The Raptors will also face Denver on July 14 (9:30 p.m. ET), Utah on July 17 (5 p.m. ET) and Miami on July 19 (9 p.m. ET).
“Obviously really excited to play with guys I played with or played against. Hopefully just make the most of it and have a fun week,” Girard said. “It should be a good opportunity — I don’t really know what to expect because it’s so new and so fast, so we’ll see.”
Girard said he’s not really thinking beyond the Summer League showcase yet. Of future opportunities — whether in the NBA’s developmental G-League, overseas or elsewhere — he said, “All of those are in play.
“It still hasn’t really hit me, but you work so hard and you kind of live in the moment,” Girard said. “I’m sure one day I’ll look back on it and be really happy and proud of it, but right now I’m still trying to attack, roll with the mindset that I’m living it, so I just have to try to stay in the present.”
On Coach Case, Mac
Girard, like many of his fellow Glens Falls athletes, was saddened to hear of the passing of longtime former coach and teacher Dave Casey, who died Thursday at age 76. Casey was a longtime coach at Glens Falls High School and at St. Mary’s, where he worked with Joe Girard Sr., JG3’s grandfather.
“Coach Casey was awesome, one of my grandfather’s best friends,” Girard said. “He took care of me when my grandfather passed away, and was always right there for me. He was a great coach, great guy, someone I still talked to — even probably a month ago, he was texting me about when I was going to come home, going out and playing golf with him. So sad and unexpected.”
Girard also expressed pride in his former position coach at Syracuse, McNamara, the former Syracuse star, taking the coaching reins at Siena College.
“Siena’s a great spot, obviously with him being a really well-known figure and someone that I’m sure the community is going to rally around,” Girard said. “He’s already done a good job putting a pretty good roster together that’s going to be ready to compete in that league right away. He was bound to be head coach one day, and I’m glad it’s in the 518.”
Did McNamara offer him any advice heading into the NBA Summer League?
“Everybody has just said be yourself, do what you’ve done — you’re not getting these opportunities by accident,” Girard said. “All those things that got you there are the reasons why, so changing anything right now would hurt your stock rather than help it.”