Joe Girard Talks 'Pandemic Basketball'

Syracuse guard says everyone is dealing with the same thing, the Orange "must get through it together."

Orange nation, it has been a while.

The men’s basketball team is ready to take the floor for their first game since an overtime win vs the Buffalo Bulls on Dec. 19. The Orange will host the Pittsburgh Panthers on Jan. 6 in the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse guard Joe Girard sat down with the media – virtually, of course – to discuss how the players have been dealing with the pandemic riddled season. 

“The whole year has been tough,” Girard said. “You never really know when you’re going to be on pause. You never really know when anything like this can happen. But I think at the end of the day you have to realize and accept that it can happen to anybody at any time, to any team. You just have to get through it somehow.”

The sophomore started off the season in a shooting slump and is still struggling to find his stroke after a few decent games from the field. Girard is shooting 32.7% from long distance, on par with his freshman season, and 31.4% from the field (34.1% freshman year). Coming into his second year, Girard, who has an uncanny ability to shoot once he gets going, was ready to explode on the scene.

Although Girard is taking a positive approach towards playing through the pandemic and is on board with it, he knows the task at hand is not easy and affects everyone differently.

“The mental side is the big thing,” Girard said. “You have to get through it as best you can. The biggest thing is staying positive mentally, but it’s really hard. It gets draining because you’re always looking over your shoulder worrying about what you can do, who you can see, who you should be around. It’s just a really hard process but like I said you have to accept and move on with it.”

The coronavirus pandemic may have halted his progression as an individual player, however, Girard says if the Orange is winning, there is nothing to worry about.

“You can use it (the pandemic) as an excuse, but I don’t really like to do that,” Girard said. “We’re still 6-1. I’m trying to contribute in any way I can and I think everybody can say the same for themselves, as well. We’re all just going to keep working hard, as long as we can move forward, and hopefully, we can keep winning games.”

The Orange will test their perfect home record vs the Panthers in a conference matchup. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. 

For more details on how to watch the game, click here.

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