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Once Joe Girard III tugged his hand away from Breon Pass’ grip in the backcourt, he sprinted from one end to the other, with the Orange’s point guard attempting to sneak through any holes a potential press could close. The Wolfpack, via a 3-pointer, had just cut SU’s lead to eight points with just under 12 minutes left. To defend Girard’s attack following the basket, Jaylon Gibson slid over once the point guard crossed the 3-point line.

And at that point, once Gibson shuffled away with his hands flashing in that air, Jesse Edwards started to drift. He drifted away from the free throw line. Drifted down toward the block. Drifted behind a duo of NC State defenders scanning to see if Girard’s eyes hinted at his next move.

The same defenders then watched as Girard’s pass traveled over their heads as Edwards pressed his feet into the court and lifted off the court. He secured the ball with both hands, flicked a layup off the backboard and drew a foul in the process, completing an and-one that sent the Orange’s lead back into double-digits instead of fizzling out.

For Girard, that pass served as his eighth and final assist against the Wolfpack, matching a total he’s reached only one other time this season. He also set his best assist-to-turnover ratio of the season with eight-to-one in the Orange’s 89-82 (11-11, 5-6 Atlantic Coast) win over NC State (10-13, 3-9 ACC) on Wednesday, a category he ranked 14th in, according to ACC statistics, entering the game. Those numbers highlighted a stat line featuring 18 points, eight assists and 50% shooting from 3.

Girard quarterbacked SU’s offense soundly for the second consecutive game since a six-turnover output against Pittsburgh eight days ago as the Orange desperately try to flip their season around in the final stretch of the regular season.

“When Joe plays like this, we’re a different team,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said postgame.

Because if Girard operated like he did against the Panthers — where he was “nowhere in the game” — SU would’ve had no chance to win. It’s exactly what happened on Tuesday, when SU’s season hit a new low behind a stagnant offense and only Girard at point guard, tying his season-high with six turnovers. He also shot 1-for-9 from the field that night, and the three points tied his fewest in a game since Feb. 22, 2021, against Duke.

That performance prompted Boeheim to say postgame that “there’s nothing I can do about it. He’s got to do something about it.” Whatever it was that caused the ebb and flow in Girard’s performance throughout the season — the sequence of wavy highs and lows allowing him to torch Clemson’s defense yet falter against Pitt’s — Boeheim wasn’t sure of. He was “out of it,” and that trickled down to the bottom-line for SU’s offense.

“Joe is hard to figure out this year,” Boeheim said on Jan. 24. “He’s really played really well in games and then when he gets off to a bad start, he struggles.”

Girard has topped 13 points in the two games since with just three turnovers to 12 assists. He has played alongside Symir Torrence off-ball, and his first assist against the Wolfpack came with 16 minutes left in the first half, after Terquavion Smith missed a floater near the baseline. Girard sprinted up in transition before hovering outside the 3-point arc, and a trailing Edwards raised his hand as soon as he crossed the 3-point line. Gibson, once again, slid up to prevent a pull-up transition 3.

Girard snapped his head left toward the other side of the court. Edwards continued sliding down. And Girard eventually threaded a pass to Edwards for a two-handed dunk that pulled SU within 10-9.

“Sometimes I looked around and there was nobody there,” Edwards said. “I just had it free down below. That’s always a good feeling.”

Girard still committed a turnover, coming midway through the first half when he tried to direct the ball to Jimmy Boeheim but instead sent it into an opposing outlet’s hands. Most of the time, though, Girard’s assists emerged from the pick-and-roll set. On Syracuse’s first possession of the second half, Smith guarded Girard as Edwards set a screen for the point guard. Smith and Gibson abandoned Edwards to attack Girard, allowing the center to sneak down untouched again for a two-handed dunk.

“He played great tonight, really just running the show and was a big reason for that run in the middle of the second half,” Jimmy said.

Syracuse embarked on a stretch to open the final 20 minutes where it made 11-of-11 shots to build what became an 11-point lead, and opportunities to assist on back-to-back 3s — one by Buddy Boeheim, one by Cole Swider — materialized during that time. He made a jumper himself three minutes into the second half, and added a 3-pointer four minutes later, too.

With 12:30 left in the game, Girard again waited at the top of Syracuse’s offense, slowly creeping back toward half court while waiting for Edwards to run from his spot. He screened Girard’s defender, and when they both stayed on Girard after, Edwards sliced through the pair of NC State defenders.

He caught the ball at the foul line, with no NC State defender even toeing a white line that distinguished the painted area. And this time, he took two leaps before dunking the ball through the net. That was assist No. 6 for Girard, and less than a minute later, No. 7 followed.

Published on February 3, 2022 at 2:00 am

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew