Bulls land five-star guard J.J. Starling

Syracuse five-star guard and former high school McDonald’s All-American J.J. Starling will boost the Bulls’ backcourt this coming year. 

Starling — who transferred after the conclusion of last season — brings a recruiting pedigree rarely seen in Buffalo men's basketball. The Baldwinsville native was rated as a 5-star recruit by 3 different sports media outlets — On3, ESPN and 247Sports — which established him as a “consensus” 5-star recruit as a high-schooler, along with being ranked No. 19 nationally by ESPN and No. 22 by 247Sports in the same timeframe. 

He looks to bring a scoring punch to the Bulls’ backcourt, which just lost two of its leading scorers from last season in junior Ryan Sabol and senior Daniel Freitag: both of whom eclipsed 18 points per game for the Bulls. 

Since his start at Charles W. Baker High School in his hometown, Starling showcased consistent scoring talent, averaging 28.6 points and 6.2 rebounds, while simultaneously setting the school’s scoring record all during his sophomore season. He attracted national attention, where he ended up as the 22nd overall ranked guard in the 2022 class at La Lumiere School in Indiana. 

Starling also received invites to both the Jordan Brand Classic and the McDonald’s All-American Game; both prestigious national showcases that feature highest-rated high school basketball talents each year.

He kicked off his college career in 2022 at the University of Notre Dame over high-profile schools including Duke University and Syracuse University. Starling averaged 11.2 points per game in his lone season at Notre Dame, and shot below 30% from 3-point range. 

Following the season, Starling entered the portal and transferred to Syracuse in 2023. Syracuse had recruited Starling heavily, inviting him to its camp as a sophomore and extending his first Division 1 offer to him back in 2019. 

The new Syracuse guard jumped his 3 point percentage from 29.9% with the Irish to 32.4% with the Orange in his sophomore campaign, and only further improved next season. Starling averaged 17.8 points as a junior, seeing his shot volume increase by 6 FGA per game and having a breakout game against Youngstown State University, scoring 38 points on 14-23 shooting. As a senior, Starling shot 11 times per game, averaging 10.9 points while sharing the court with some other talented guards, such as Kiyan Anthony and Nate Kingz.

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