Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Four-star guard J.J. Starling commits to Notre Dame
By ADAM ZAGORIAJ.J. Starling, the 6-foot-4, 180-pound combo guard from La Lumiere (IN) School and the Albany City Rocks grassroots program, will stay in state for college after he committed to Notre Dame on Tuesday.
“I’ll be committing to the University of Notre Dame,” he told ESPN’s Paul Biancardi on Instagram Live.
“What really stood out was coach [Mike] Brey, he reminded me of my AAU coach [Jimmy] Hart and my coach at LaLu coach Pat [Holmes]. Just personalities that I’m really compatible with and I find myself really comfortable around them. That’s what you want, especially if you’re going to be playing at a college level. You want to be comfortable and be able to trust the guy you’re play for.”
Ranked by 247Sports.com as the No. 7 combo guard and No. 33 overall prospect in the class of 2022, the Baldwinsville, N.Y. native chose the Irish over Syracuse, Duke, Stanford and Northwestern.
“JJ is the complete package of positional size, athleticism and skill,” Hart of the Albany City Rocks told ZAGSBLOG.
“He’s patient with his offense, a more-than-willing passer yet capable of hitting 10 3’s in a game. JJ can play either the 1 or 2 and is a versatile defender willing to guard the other team’s best perimeter player be it the 1,2 or 3.
“He’s a 4.0 student and a perfectionist of the court JJ. Notre Dame will be getting an elite scorer with an NBA skill set. Best of all he’s 17 years old and loves to work!”
Starling joins power forward Dom Campbell in Notre Dame’s 2022 class.
“I’m known for my scoring and facilitating,” Starling said. “I’m a three-level scorer, I can shoot, dribble, pass, finish around the rim. So that’s what I’m looking forward to bringing to Notre Dame.”
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
