Joe Girard shares his thoughts after Clemson defeats South Carolina, 72-67

The Clemson Tigers’ basketball team just moved to 8-0 for the first time since 2008. And on Wednesday night, they got a coveted victory over their in-state rivals, the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Tigers trailed by seven points at halftime but outscored the Gamecocks by 12 in the second half to come away with the win, 72-67. Following the win, Clemson guard Joe Girard III spoke with the ACC Network broadcast crew about the game, including his former head coach at Syracuse, Jim Boeheim.

Joe Girard on the big win over South Carolina

There was a point where Clemson went scoreless for about eight minutes in the first half. Which is why they trailed at the break. What was the turning point at halftime?

“Yeah, I think it was just going back to being Clemson basketball,” Girard began. You know Coach Brownell has the little grit thing and built the culture here based on grit. I think we’ve got a lot of guys that just love to compete and love to win. And whenever that comes into your mindset, usually a lot of success takes over.”

What was his speech like at halftime? Was he calling for the ball more at halftime?

“No sir. No sir. Just trying to win games. I mean, coaches do a great job of game planning and watching film, even at halftime. And just figuring out what’s going in. And we’ve got a lot of guys that can score. A lot of guys that can make plays as well. And it just makes it a lot easier when you’ve got five guys on the court who can all shoot it well,” the former Syracuse guard noted.

Girard did his part on Wednesday night, stuffing the stat sheet with 12 points and seven rebounds. He was one of five different Clemson players to score in double figures. Ian Schiefflin pumped in a double-double for the Tigers, grabbing 12 rebounds to go along with 12 points.

And then his old coach, Jim Boeheim, had to ask him a few questions. How does it feel to be 8-0?

“It’s unbelievable coach. I mean, I told everybody when I entered the portal I wanted to get back to the Sweet 16 like we did my sophomore year. And I’ve kind of been itching to make a run in March. So, it feels really good. I couldn’t do it without ya, that’s for sure,” Girard said.

What was the hostile environment like on Saturday night in the rivalry game between the Tigers and Gamecocks? “Yeah, I mean, these guys, you know, they’ve been through it for four years now. And I kind of haven’t experienced it, but you know, I’ve been playing a lot of basketball. Especially at Syracuse. You kind of get it through the Georgetowns, the Dukes, and all those kind of atmospheres when you’re playing in the dome. So, I’m kind of used to these atmospheres,” Girard said.

“But it was a great one. And I know it means a lot to the guys here. A lot to the community. Especially the coaches. So, it’s definitely a good one to get back, with them falling for it last year. So, this was a good one for us,” Girard finished.

Next up for Clemson, they’ll face off against the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, December 9th.