If you have two PGs, you have no PGs
I learned how to pronounce Michael Gbinije's last name within a few minutes of seeing him step on the court for the first time last weekend.
It's BEN-uh-jay.
He's 6'7". He's listed as a forward. He can play four positions. He's athletic. He fills up the box score. He's quick. And right now he's SU's backup point guard. He can and will play next to Ennis, but his most useful attribute is that he can effectively run the point while Ennis is on the bench.
Actually, towards the end of the first half I was wondering if he might be the BEST point guard on the Orange. Suddenly, the post-MCW, post-Triche, post-Waiters, post-Jardine Orange lack a point guard who can slash to the basket. Ennis was rejected twice tonight trying to do just that. Rejected, mind you, by two Colgate Raiders. I shudder to think of what the ACC front courts will do to him. Gbinije is shifty and flashy and makes you feel more confident when he is driving to the hoop. More confident than any other Orange except maybe Jerami Grant. The latter has the higher ceiling as an offensive weapon, to be sure, but this kid Gbinije...there's just something about him.
So, yeah, with a couple minutes left to go in the first half I was thinking of 1) which men's room was the closest to our seats and 2) how I would craft my blog post argument that Gbinije should be starting over Ennis. At that point, Ennis had already had one of those aforementioned layup attempts blocked. He had one rebound. And he had one turnover. That's it. We were watching Ennis whip the ball around the perimeter, passing up WIDE open three-point shots from the top of the arc as SU lazily worked the edges of Colgate's zone.
Behind me, a son turned to his father and asked, eyes wide with the innocence of youth, "Daddy? Why doesn't the man with the ball shoot when no one on the other team are standing near him?"
"Because he can't make that shot!" his father growled, emptying his beer, and cursing under his breath.
On cue, Ennis finally tried one. Swish! A minute later he canned another one. After halftime, they kept falling. Two more threes, two more swishes. He finished 4 for 6 from long range, 0 for 3 on two-pointers, and dished out a whopping zero assists. Gbinije led the Orange with three assists.
I still have the impression Ennis is a pass-first, pass-second, pass-third, shoot-fourth point guard. I LOVE those kinds of point guards, especially if they can change strategy when it matters, and take and hit big shots late in the game. But that is not the kind of guard SU needs this year, at least not yet. It's not like the SU offense is loaded with weapons.
So...I dunno. It'll be great if Ennis turns out to be a solid shooter, and if Cooney actually makes his shots this year. That would give the Orange three excellent perimeter shooters in their starting lineup, if you count CJ, which I do. It'll also be great if Gbinije can be a solid change-of-style point guard. It'll be great if everyone and everything turn out as good as we dream they can be. Thaaaaat's November in college basketball.
The SU offense is still a mess. (69 points?? How did we not get tacos against Colgate?!?) But it's a mess like a little kid's rooms is a mess; if you put everything where it belongs, the overall scene might turn out rather colorful, in a pleasing sort of way.
It's BEN-uh-jay.
He's 6'7". He's listed as a forward. He can play four positions. He's athletic. He fills up the box score. He's quick. And right now he's SU's backup point guard. He can and will play next to Ennis, but his most useful attribute is that he can effectively run the point while Ennis is on the bench.
Actually, towards the end of the first half I was wondering if he might be the BEST point guard on the Orange. Suddenly, the post-MCW, post-Triche, post-Waiters, post-Jardine Orange lack a point guard who can slash to the basket. Ennis was rejected twice tonight trying to do just that. Rejected, mind you, by two Colgate Raiders. I shudder to think of what the ACC front courts will do to him. Gbinije is shifty and flashy and makes you feel more confident when he is driving to the hoop. More confident than any other Orange except maybe Jerami Grant. The latter has the higher ceiling as an offensive weapon, to be sure, but this kid Gbinije...there's just something about him.
So, yeah, with a couple minutes left to go in the first half I was thinking of 1) which men's room was the closest to our seats and 2) how I would craft my blog post argument that Gbinije should be starting over Ennis. At that point, Ennis had already had one of those aforementioned layup attempts blocked. He had one rebound. And he had one turnover. That's it. We were watching Ennis whip the ball around the perimeter, passing up WIDE open three-point shots from the top of the arc as SU lazily worked the edges of Colgate's zone.
Behind me, a son turned to his father and asked, eyes wide with the innocence of youth, "Daddy? Why doesn't the man with the ball shoot when no one on the other team are standing near him?"
"Because he can't make that shot!" his father growled, emptying his beer, and cursing under his breath.
On cue, Ennis finally tried one. Swish! A minute later he canned another one. After halftime, they kept falling. Two more threes, two more swishes. He finished 4 for 6 from long range, 0 for 3 on two-pointers, and dished out a whopping zero assists. Gbinije led the Orange with three assists.
I still have the impression Ennis is a pass-first, pass-second, pass-third, shoot-fourth point guard. I LOVE those kinds of point guards, especially if they can change strategy when it matters, and take and hit big shots late in the game. But that is not the kind of guard SU needs this year, at least not yet. It's not like the SU offense is loaded with weapons.
So...I dunno. It'll be great if Ennis turns out to be a solid shooter, and if Cooney actually makes his shots this year. That would give the Orange three excellent perimeter shooters in their starting lineup, if you count CJ, which I do. It'll also be great if Gbinije can be a solid change-of-style point guard. It'll be great if everyone and everything turn out as good as we dream they can be. Thaaaaat's November in college basketball.
The SU offense is still a mess. (69 points?? How did we not get tacos against Colgate?!?) But it's a mess like a little kid's rooms is a mess; if you put everything where it belongs, the overall scene might turn out rather colorful, in a pleasing sort of way.
posted by Prof. A at 10:50 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home