Syracuse Fans Have Jokes After Five-Star Hoops Transfer Announces Decision With Geographically-Challenged NYC Graphic

Jonathan 'JJ' Starling is transferring to Syracuse. He is not transferring to a program in The Big Apple, despite what a graphic announcing his decision might suggest.

Starling, a former five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American, committed to Notre Dame in the Class of 2022. He chose the Fighting Irish over offers from Duke, Northwestern, and Stanford, among others.

From Baldwinsville, New York — a town of just under 8,000 located less than 15 miles from downtown Syracuse — there was thought that he might end up staying home to play for the Orange. That was not the case out of high school, but that is the case today.

Starling decided to transfer from Notre Dame after the departure of head coach Mike Brey after averaging 11.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while playing in every game during his freshman season. He ended up returning back to upstate New York to play for Adrian Autry and Syracuse over interest from Alabama, Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA, Tennessee, Auburn, Indiana and Oregon.

The NCAA basketball transfer portal opened on Monday morning. A record amount of players decided to seek a new opportunity with a new program.

Among them was Starling, who chose his new school Tuesday. He is a potential first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and a fantastic "get" for Jim Boeheim's replacement.

Starling announced his decision through On3 Sports, which made an awesome graphic of Starling in a Syracuse jersey in the heart of New York City.

There is just one problem... (Starling definitely didn't have any say in the graphic.)

Syracuse University is located in Syracuse, New York.

It is not located in New York City. It is located 250 miles north of New York City. The drive from Syracuse to New York City is four hours long if (big if) you avoid Holland Tunnel traffic.

Syracuse to NYC (Google Maps)

As with anything on the internet, fans had a field day in the comments.