It's been nearly two weeks since the NCAA passed new legislation that allows college athletes to make money off their celebrity, but two-year starting guard Joe Girard would rather talk about the progress his golf game is showing than his bank account.

"It's getting better," Girard said on a Zoom interview Tuesday morning. "I'd say it's definitely a lot better than it was last year. Last year, I just started in quarantine, it's the first time I ever picked up a club."

What You Need To Know

  • SU guard Joe Girard III has T-shirts and sweatshirts for sale online at theplayerstrunk.com

  • The junior-to-be says he and his teammates are already working out for the upcoming season

  • Girard says making extra money is nice, but his focus is on getting better at basketball

  • The 20-year old newcomers Cole Swider, Jimmy Boeheim, Symir Torrence and Benny Williams are gelling nicely

The 20-year old says he shoots somewhere between the high-80s and low-90s when he plays golf, apparently making up for his lack of experience with superior athleticism. But, golf is just one of the many ways he and his teammates are passing the time in between summer workouts up on the SU campus.

Girard says he and the guards are working out one hour per day with their position coach, Syracuse assistant Gerry McNamara, and one hour per week with the entire team. Despite the lack of high expectations for this year's team nationally, the junior says from what he's seen so far, another Sweet 16 run isn't out of the question.

"We have a lot of expectations for a lot of people, because we know we can shoot the ball well, our defense is going to be well," said Girard. "We're just looking forward to proving a lot of people wrong, because we do know we made a Sweet 16 last year and have a lot of momentum going into this year. Obviously, it's a whole different team, but we know what it takes to get there."

And while it's true that he and fellow sharpshooter Buddy Boeheim have personalized shirts and sweatshirts for sale online, Girard says making money will never be his top priority while he's at Syracuse. He says he never thought about college athletes getting paid while he was growing up, but also admits he would have bought plenty of (fellow Glens Falls native) Jimmer Fredette gear had it been available back then. 

Girard, who had some scoring struggles during his sophomore season, says he's more focused on making himself better, than richer.

"The main goal is still to play basketball, to get better in basketball and win a lot of games," said Girard, who's scoring average dipped nearly three points last season (9.8 ppg) from his freshman year (12.4). "I'm glad they passed it, obviously, and we're all doing whatever we can to profit off our name, image and likeness. But, at the same time, we're still focused on getting better at basketball, and making sure we're ready for the upcoming season."