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Joe Girard III and Buddy Boeheim tested positive for COVID-19 and experienced symptoms during the Orange’s three-week pause in late December, Girard and Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim confirmed on Tuesday night.

In a season where COVID-19 has been the biggest obstacle for Syracuse and the entire college basketball landscape, Girard opened up about his battle with the coronavirus. Girard said he’s still not 100% healthy and hasn’t fully regained his sense of taste. Before he lost both his smell and taste, he had a sore throat and experienced fatigue.

“I think just the biggest thing for me, and I think Buddy said the same thing, is you’re just so tired,” Girard said. “The disease just made me really tired. I was really tired. And even following it up until now, there are days where I’m waking up and getting out of bed and if I sit back down, I feel like I could fall asleep at any time.”

The Orange didn’t play a game from Dec. 19 to Jan. 6 as the entire program went on pause after being exposed to COVID-19 following the win against Buffalo. SU Athletics never announced that there were any positive tests within the program, unlike the first two-week preseason pause, when it confirmed that the head coach and one other member of the program tested positive.

Freshman Frank Anselem hasn’t played in a game since returning from quarantine, and Woody Newton, Anselem’s roommate, has barely played. Boeheim remarked after the Pitt loss on Jan. 6 that Newton was in “isolation” during the quarantine period, too. Both have been practicing with the team, and neither have said they tested positive for COVID-19 at any point.

During his quarantine, Girard reached out to former NBA point guard Jimmer Fredette, a friend of Girard’s who attended the same Glens Falls High School years before. Fredette advised Girard to read books, go on walks and do puzzles to help him mentally and physically.

“I was pretty sick. Having asthma, my parents and the staff were pretty worried about it,” Girard said. “But I’m a healthy kid, I’m a college athlete.”

Girard still goes on walks to keep his energy levels up and try to feel better. He once sent Buddy a video of him sniffing, but failing to smell, hot sauce.

Since the Orange have returned to action, Buddy and Girard have been inconsistent with their jump shooting. In the first half against North Carolina, Buddy scored 18 points, but he was held scoreless in the second frame. Girard had a great offensive showing against Georgetown on Jan. 9, but he struggled down the stretch against Pitt on Jan. 6 and was benched in the final 10 minutes of Syracuse’s 20-point loss to Pittsburgh on Jan. 17. On Tuesday, the guards combined for 46 of the Orange’s 83 points.

Girard said that both he and Buddy are feeling much better, but they’re not yet all the way right. Buddy also missed multiple games due to contact tracing when a walk-on tested positive earlier in the year.

“I think Buddy’s just starting to get his rhythm back a little bit from all the time out and being sick, having the COVID,” Boeheim said.

Boeheim said that the team missed 10 practice days during the COVID-19 pause and that it took his players time to get back to fitness and find their form following the recovery from the virus. He felt that Buddy and Girard had their best overall game of the season on Tuesday night, both in making shots and defensive aggression.

“People forget — everybody knows this happens and knows that they were, but then they expect them to come back and play like nothing ever happened,” Boeheim said. “It just doesn’t work that way.”

Published on January 19, 2021 at 11:30 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo