Syracuse Senior Guard and Duke transfer Michael Gbinije stands a very good chance of making an NBA roster. The NCAA Tournament can certainly augment your NBA Draft stock and Gbinjie was named to the NCAA Regionals All Tournament team. He hit the game-winning lay-up in the Sweet 16 versus Gonzaga, and a big showing versus North Carolina could send him further up the big board.
Really, his best selling point is his ability to play and defends multiple positions. He has good size for a two, and tremendous size for a one, if he is to play either of those two positions at the next level.
(Related: Videos taken on the court as Syracuse celebrates a Final Four berth)
(Related: Photos taken on the court as Syracuse celebrates a Final Four berth)
Gbinije was asked at Elite 8 Media Day who first brought the idea of playing the point to his attention. Turns out, it’s former Cuse star and the 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year.
“At the time I think Michael Carter-Williams, that team, was the team I was a part of at the time, and I just remember during practice Coach just telling me to run the point, and I kind of got thrown in the fire a little bit playing against guys like Mike and Tyler Ennis, but he has helped me to become a better player,” said Gbinije
“At the beginning I was shaky. I had some silly turnovers, picked up my dribble a couple times, just — it was different. It was a new experience. It’s helped me a lot. Just from a basketball IQ standpoint, you’ve got to make sure everybody is in the right position when you’re running sets. You’ve got to be a thinker as well as a player on the court.
“You know, just it helped me my basketball skills, as well.”
Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim discussed the process of motivating and molding Gbinije, and made a bizarre, very inaccurate statement.
“We want to develop our players,” Boeheim said.
“We get a limited number of so-called McDonald’s All-Americans at Syracuse, very limited compared to a lot of other schools, so over the years, we’ve had to develop players, we’ve had to push them, and much like with Mike Gbinije, I pushed Mike real hard in the beginning. Generally I only have to do that for a couple years and then they get the message, and when they don’t get it by their junior year, I tend to get real upset.”
“I always tell those guys, if I wasn’t upset, you wouldn’t be playing, and if I’m not talking to you, it’s because you’re not playing, and I don’t think you can be pushed into being what we need to have you be.”
“Limited?”
Syracuse has had 20 McDonald’s all-Americans; five since 2010! I guess that’s a “limited” number when compared to Duke or Kentucky; that’s about it. Boeheim made an ignorant and clueless statement there. Not to mention that Gbinije himself, although not a McDonald’s All-American, was a 5-star, blue chip recruit. He was ranked 26th overall in his class by ESPNU and 28th by Scout! He’s absolutely the wrong individual to hold up as an example to prove this point.
Again, Boeheim looks extremely awkward and just plain off with that soundbite.
Anyway, most NBA mock drafts have Michael Gbinije in the mid to late second round, but he still has plenty of opportunity to get himself up into the first. For your enjoyment, here’s video of Michael Gbinije talking with the media on the court right after the Cuse became the first #10 seed to ever reach the Final Four. Love the part when he says “balls to the wall.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-6ntLRyw1I
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
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