Naithan George gives Syracuse basketball a bona fide point guard: “We went all-in on him”

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – As soon as he knew Georgia Tech point guard Naithan George had entered the transfer portal, JJ Starling sent a text to the Syracuse coaching staff. Starling felt George was the kind of player Syracuse was looking for to play point guard for the 2025-26 team.

“Hey, we gotta go get him,” Starling texted the staff.

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Starling, intent to return for a senior year to play under Adrian Autry, was brought into the roster construction process along with Donnie Freeman. Retaining those two stars was paramount for Autry. Building a roster around them with talented players like George was a must to get the Syracuse program back to where it needs to be. Not long after encouraging the Syracuse staff to recruit George, Starling was on FaceTime with the Orange’s next point guard.

“Nait George is like my best friend,” Starling said. “He sees the floor, he makes the right reads. He’s selfless. I’m really excited to be able to call him my backcourt mate.”

Starling pitched George on accomplishing something at Syracuse that hasn’t been done in a few years: getting back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. As a competitor, the idea of bringing Syracuse back to prominence had George invested. Of course, NIL and compensation are a big part any player’s decision. The relationship the staff wanted to build with George stood out to him.

“Shoot. When I got in the portal I heard from Syracuse right away,” George said. “After that it was non-stop. Just hearing from them consistently. That was the main thing.”

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Syracuse needed a high-level point guard that was proven at the Power Four level. Autry also needed a compatible backcourt mate for Starling. A natural scoring guard, Starling had to play point guard out of necessity last season. Acquiring a ready-made point guard with the intangibles to lead, command the offense and alleviate defensive pressure was a must.

“We went all-in on him,” Autry said at media day….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/naithan-george-gives-syracuse-basketball-180000737.html

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Publish date : 2025-11-23 18:00:00

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