I
t almost seemed rehearsed, a perfectly orchestrated storybook beginning. The prodigal son had returned, marking the end to a three-year absence. J.J. Starling locked eyes with his choked up father, Patrick, on the doorstep of their house.
“Hometown hero,” Patrick said to Starling. “How does that sound?”
Starling didn’t need to answer. His beaming reaction punctuated the start of a new chapter. Following an underwhelming freshman year at Notre Dame, questions arose about his future. He had struggled with nagging injuries. Mike Brey, the coach who led his recruitment, was gone after 23 years at the helm. And, Adrian Autry, who Starling has known since he was 7, was appointed as Syracuse’s new head coach.
“All the stars aligned for J.J. to go back home,” said Patrick Holmes, Starling’s head coach at La Lumiere (Ind.) School. “It all made perfect sense.”
Starling entered the transfer portal days after Notre Dame’s season ended. The Baldwinsville (N.Y.) native and former McDonald’s All-American committed to Syracuse within 24 hours. His decision wasn’t surprising. He wanted to be close to his family and play for the program he grew up 15 minutes away from.
“I mean it’s been a little while since there’s been a kid from the 3-1-5 who’s in that starting lineup,” said Jim Hart, Starling’s AAU coach with Albany City Rocks. “Right?”
Starling was the stereotypical, obsessed young athlete, who barely missed on his Little Tikes hoop and murmured the word “basketball” while falling asleep. At 8, he attended a camp at SU, ran by then-assistant coach Mike Hopkins. He built early relationships with SU’s staff and excelled.
“I’m a coach and I see a lot of kids play,” Satonya, Starling’s mother, recalled Hopkins telling her. “I don’t know how to explain it, but J.J. has it. He has the ‘It’ factor.”
Word spread quickly. Tyler Smith-Lewis, Starling’s brother, said every high school in the area wanted Starling, who entered 10th grade with a year of varsity experience under his belt.
Arlo Stone |Digital Design Director
Starling decided to attend Baldwinsville’s Baker High School, where he became a 1,000-point scorer in under two seasons. Baldwinsville’s Athletic Director, Chris Campolieta, said Starling spearheaded Baker’s first run to the sectional finals in decades.
“Baldwinsville loved him,” Smith-Lewis said. “Like they was calling him a legend. So he was already making history at that point.”
Campolieta said Baldwinsville basketball is “automatically associated” with Starling’s name and students around the district still wear No. 1 because they “want to be the next J.J.”
Orange emojis flooded Starling’s Instagram comments when he announced Syracuse as one of his top-five collegiate choices on Sept. 9, 2021. The idea of Starling playing anywhere other than SU was seemingly unfathomable to the local community. It was familiar. He was the hometown kid. Why would he want to go anywhere else?
Starling recalled staying up late and seeking frequent advice while weighing his decision. Smith-Lewis offered his two cents. “Bro, the world is big. Experience life. Go experience life. Syracuse is going to be here. We’re from here,” he told Starling.
Naturally, people were confused when Starling committed to Notre Dame. Smith-Lewis said they assumed the then-four star guard was a lock to boost Jim Boeheim’s 2022 recruiting class, which finished 14th best in the country, according to Sports Illustrated. Some checked in with Smith-Lewis, questioning if he did enough to persuade Starling to stay.
But choosing the Irish wasn’t the first time Starling had left home.
Entering the 2020-21 season, he transferred to La Lumiere — a preparatory basketball powerhouse in La Porte, Ind. — amid worry that Baker wouldn’t play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Starling was also in search of better competition.
“He kind of outgrew his situation where he just wasn’t challenged enough in practices and workouts,” Holmes said. “For him to get where he wanted to get to, he knew that you have to kind of be uncomfortable and make that leap.”
Starling had garnered interest from preparatory schools since eighth grade, Satonya said. She refused to let him go back then. It was too early. But when her son pushed the move, Satonya was on top of everything.
She heavily researched all of Starling’s potential suitors. She looked into their educational offerings, weighing the balance between athletics and academics, and even studied the dining options at each school. Then, she and Patrick let Starling have the final say.
When Starling left for La Lumiere, the household went quiet, Satonya said. She recalled days hugging her youngest daughter Janeé and the two of them crying. She didn’t want to miss his prom and “those little extra milestones” throughout the last two years of high school.
“I could tell we were all missing a big piece,” Satonya said. “The laughter wasn’t quite the same. We had to learn to keep our unit tight and try to find happiness with him gone. It was hard.”
Arlo Stone |Digital Design Director
For Starling, there was the obvious transition period. Holmes and his wife occasionally helped by hosting team dinners. During Starling’s junior season, La Lumiere played in a couple of quasi-bubble tournaments for 10 days at a time. Patrick and Satonya couldn’t go to the games with fans not allowed. The pair missed watching Starling so much that they consistently drove two hours in spring 2020 to Albany, just to see him practice with City Rocks.
Starling’s college decision stemmed from his close relationship with Brey. Notre Dame is just an hour-drive from La Lumiere, and Holmes said Starling saw Indiana as a second home. In his freshman year with the Irish, Starling started 24-of-28 games, averaging 11.2 points and 2.8 rebounds. But in January, Brey abruptly announced his resignation from the program. Patrick and Satonya presumed Starling would follow suit.
He told Satonya he didn’t want to think about transferring until after the season. When ND lost in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, effectively eliminating it from postseason contention, realities of entering the portal heightened. Then, Autry — who initially recruited Starling out of high school — was named Boeheim’s successor at Syracuse a day later.
“Once Red (Autry) took the position, we knew there was a 99.9% chance he was coming home,” Satonya said. “He was coming to play for Red.”
During Starling’s spring break, he spent a couple days at home. Rumors had already started to swirl, but he let his parents in on the decision first.
“There’s only one thing to do now,” Starling told them. “Put my name in the portal and come home.”
Satonya ran through the steps again. On her way out for a dentist appointment, she saw Starling lounging in the living room with his two sisters. She reminded him to contact Notre Dame’s Athletics Compliance Office to notify them of his departure. They agreed on discussing further when she returned.
Laying down in a dental chair, Satonya couldn’t reach her phone. It had been buzzing like crazy. A mother of four, she immediately assumed the worst. Yet, after picking up her phone, she found multiple college coaches had called and texted. But Satonya knew none of the coaches reaching out had a chance.
On March 14, Starling announced his commitment to Syracuse. “I’m coming home,” his Instagram post read. Autry said the first time he reached out, both had a mutual desire and understanding. It felt like a reunion.
“It was short and sweet,” Starling said. “There was no trying to sell me on anything. (Autry) was someone I knew I wanted to play for. That was an easy decision.”
Smith-Lewis said the “town is hype” and Starling’s decision felt natural and genuine. Patrick and Satonya can now attend every home game. Campolieta gets “chills just thinking about it.” Hart, Starling’s old AAU coach, said the attraction of playing in front of his hometown crowd meant there wasn’t need for much discussion.
“The hometown hero realized his true home is Syracuse,” Hart said.
Photograph taken by Maxine Brackbill
Published on November 2, 2023 at 1:23 am
Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff
