Clemson guard Joe Girard makes decision on NBA draft

Clemson landed Syracuse transfer Joe Girard earlier this month, but Girard was still considering entering the NBA draft.

He has now made a decision on his future as Girard will return to school, according to a report from Jon Rothstein.

The guard averaged 16.4 points per game last season, while shooting better than 38 percent from 3-point range. He ranked sixth in the ACC in scoring. Girard also averaged 2.8 rebounds and 3 assists per game last season.

Girard should help a Clemson roster that just missed out on the NCAA Tournament a year ago, finishing as one of the first four teams out. In addition to Girard, the Tigers also added transfers Jack Clark of NC State, Jake Heidbreder of Air Force and Bas Leyte of UNCG this offseason.

Girard isn’t the only Clemson player with a decision to make in regards to the NBA. Tigers forward PJ Hall has declared for the NBA draft while maintaining his eligibility.

Hall competed at the NBA combine earlier this week after not originally being invited to the combine. He received an invitation after performing well at the G League Elite Camp earlier this month.

Hall averaged 15.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 2022-23. The South Carolina native will be a senior in 2022-23 if he opts to return to school.

ACC has record number of intraconference transfers

Girard and Clark weren’t the only ACC players to transfer from one ACC team to another.

A record 10 players have transferred between schools within the league so far this offseason. That number includes some high-profile names Matthew like Cleveland, Joe Girard, Jaelyn Withers, and JJ Starling.

Here is the full list:

• SF Tyler Nickel – North Carolina to Virginia Tech
• PF Ben Middlebrooks – Clemson to NC State
• C Ebenezer Dowuana – NC State to Georgia Tech
• PF Jack Clark – NC State to Clemson
• PF Jaelyn Withers – Louisville to North Carolina
• SG Cormac Ryan – Notre Dame to North Carolina
• SG JJ Starling – Notre Dame to Syracuse
• PG Joe Girard – Syracuse to Clemson
• SF Matthew Cleveland – Florida State to Miami
• SF Danilo Jovanovich – Miami to Louisville

North Carolina and Clemson lead the way in that group with two transfers apiece. The Hokies, Wolfpack, Yellow Jackets, Orange, Hurricanes, and Cardinals then also each took in one ACC transfer of their own.

In the era of the transfer portal, these sorts of exchanges within a league aren’t that uncommon anymore. Still, with this many to this point this offseason, we should see some rivalries and matchups heat up considering the previous connections between them all.