Gbinijie

[Consigliere]

Really impressed with how solid Silent G's game has become in virtually all phases. He is the ultimate glue guy. Developed into a solid 3-point shooter, can put the ball on the floor and drive to the hoop, handles well and can run the offense when Kaleb is out, rebounds ferociously against bigger and stronger opponents, plays the wing in the zone to perfection and really seems to take charge on the court. Granted I'd like to see his free throw percentage improve and would like to see a more consistent finish but the strides he's made and the willingness to accept a much larger role on both ends of the court have been remarkable.

No question Rak is the most improved player in the ACC, but Gbinijie just may be no. 2 in that race.

 

[pearl31]

Salivating at the thought of what he's going to do next year surrounded by the influx of young talent.
1st team all ACC (next yr)

 

[RF2044]

Really impressed with how solid Silent G's game has become in virtually all phases. He is the ultimate glue guy. Developed into a solid 3-point shooter, can put the ball on the floor and drive to the hoop, handles well and can run the offense when Kaleb is out, rebounds ferociously against bigger and stronger opponents, plays the wing in the zone to perfection and really seems to take charge on the court. Granted I'd like to see his free throw percentage improve and would like to see a more consistent finish but the strides he's made and the willingness to accept a much larger role on both ends of the court have been remarkable.

No question Rak is the most improved player in the ACC, but Gbinijie just may be no. 2 in that race.

the reboudning is particularly impressive to me, given how poorly he rebounded last year on the back line of the zone.

 

[jordoo]

FT shooting is an issue and I won't go as far as saying he plays the wing in the zone to perfection as I tend to think he over extends a lot like Southerland used to. I think he is however excellent at cutting in front of the bounce pass to the back door baseline cutter and must have 15 steals doing that this season. For his size he is an above average rebounder and weak side shot blocker as well and generally a very good defender on the wing.

Offensively he is taking off before our eyes. The driving and finishing last night was excellent and really a new facet. He has great vision on the move while driving. He can hit the pull up, floaters in the lane and open 3's. I agree that I'm very excited to see how good he can be next season but lets not count out how good he can be down the stretch this season. Next season however we may have the wings to see him out top on the zone from time to time to spell Cooney or Kaleb.

 

[TBCuse11]

G is more than a glue guy. Way more. He is going to be our most important and probably best player next year. He will get national attention.

 

[pearl31]

I think he is however excellent at cutting in front of the bounce pass to the back door baseline cutter and must have 15 steals doing that this season.

He's become very good at this - great anticipation and timing

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Really impressed with how solid Silent G's game has become in virtually all phases. He is the ultimate glue guy. Developed into a solid 3-point shooter, can put the ball on the floor and drive to the hoop, handles well and can run the offense when Kaleb is out, rebounds ferociously against bigger and stronger opponents, plays the wing in the zone to perfection and really seems to take charge on the court. Granted I'd like to see his free throw percentage improve and would like to see a more consistent finish but the strides he's made and the willingness to accept a much larger role on both ends of the court have been remarkable.

No question Rak is the most improved player in the ACC, but Gbinijie just may be no. 2 in that race.

Not to quibble, but plays the zone to perfection is a bit over the top. I agree with pretty much everything else you said, but he tends to play too far up and has given up a few three pointers in the corner due to that. And maybe it's because he played a lot of guard last year that he tends to float that way still. I worry his floating will lead to future foul trouble for Rak as well. But he's so much quicker than a typical forward that he does seem to get back into position typically.

 

[jordoo]

G is more than a glue guy. Way more. He is going to be our most important and probably best player next year. He will get national attention.

This would not shock me at all. He has the tools offensively to do damage all over the court something Cooney does not have. Cooney likely will have an excellent senior season as well but his overall success will be more tied to Mike, Chris and others being offensive forces that free Cooney up by lessoning the defenses attentions on him.

 

[Oakland]

I'm impressed with him this year, especially after last season. He now looks like a Duke player. Wonder if K regrets losing him. Just a shame we didn't see get more out of G last season.

Really impressed with how solid Silent G's game has become in virtually all phases. He is the ultimate glue guy. Developed into a solid 3-point shooter, can put the ball on the floor and drive to the hoop, handles well and can run the offense when Kaleb is out, rebounds ferociously against bigger and stronger opponents, plays the wing in the zone to perfection and really seems to take charge on the court. Granted I'd like to see his free throw percentage improve and would like to see a more consistent finish but the strides he's made and the willingness to accept a much larger role on both ends of the court have been remarkable.

No question Rak is the most improved player in the ACC, but Gbinijie just may be no. 2 in that race.

 

[jgeorge322]

i wouldnt say hes a glue guy. more like a go to guy. hes the only one who can attack the rim.

 

[moqui]

he has become the kind of all-around forward that JB has always built his best teams upon

 

[CuseFaninVT]

he has become the kind of all-around forward that JB has always built his best teams upon

He has ever had another point forward like him? I know Melo can handle the ball, but G does so much more than any other forward I can recall.

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

Next season however we may have the wings to see him out top on the zone from time to time to spell Cooney or Kaleb.

Love the thought of this, it would eliminate the liability KJo is out there, even when he learns better positioning KJo will be too undersized to be a shutdown top of the zone defender. Might we even see it this year? If Chinoso improves enough, put Rak out on a wing to move Mike up to the top?

 

[jordoo]

Love the thought of this, it would eliminate the liability KJo is out there, even when he learns better positioning KJo will be too undersized to be a shutdown top of the zone defender. Might we even see it this year? If Chinoso improves enough, put Rak out on a wing to move Mike up to the top?

This year absolutely not! Next year maybe but Kaleb won't be a liability forever on D. He is an inch shorter than Cooney, has longer arms and better quickness. He is still learning the D and because he has so much to learn on O I think he's learning slower than expected but he has been improving although he's got to get those hands up on closeouts!

 

[OttoMets]

He has ever had another point forward like him? I know Melo can handle the ball, but G does so much more than any other forward I can recall.

Todd Burgan.

Calm down, calm down.

They were both used in similar roles, Gbinije's a bit more heavily leaned-upon as a ball handler, but that'll diminish once the point guard gets more comfortable.

Both could play point forward, both had a three point shot that needed to be defended. Both rebounded well. Both also overused shot fakes and struggled to finish at the rim, but I digress. Gbinije's got 40 or 50 more games to keep improving, so I like that.

 

[CusefanATL]

He has ever had another point forward like him? I know Melo can handle the ball, but G does so much more than any other forward I can recall.

No team could press us because of Melo. Melo was a legit point forward whenever we needed him.

 

[Consigliere]

i wouldnt say hes a glue guy. more like a go to guy. hes the only one who can attack the rim.

Yeah, I guess glue guy has a connotation of being a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. I used it somewhat inaccurately to describe a player who can fill multiple roles as necessary and has the versatility to exploit a broad skill set. Need to invent a new term for G, i guess!

 

[Henny & Coke]

Gbinije is currently my favorite player to watch. The step-up in his game from even the first 8 games of this season has been remarkable. And he is providing exactly what this team needs: someone to make plays by driving to the hoop, a second legitimate 3pt threat (to Cooney), a steady ball handler to take some pressure off of young Joseph, and (usually) a guy that makes smart basketball plays/decisions (with the exception of 1-2 times per game he's prone to make a really dumb decision).

1st 8 games this year:
6.9 ppg, 26.3 mpg, 423% FG, 143% 3pt, 3.6 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.6 spg, 1.8 tpg

last 10 games this year:
14.0 ppg, 37.4 mpg, 500% FG, 553% 3pt, 6.4 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.4 spg, 2.1 tpg

Increase/decrease:
7.1 ppg (103% increase), 77% FG (18%), 410% 3pt (287%), 2.8 rpg (78%), 2.1 apg (105%), (0.2) spg (13%), 0.3 tpg (17%)

It's been a real pleasure to see Gbinije take his game to this current level this season...and it makes me wonder what his ceiling may be. Can Gbinije play even better than this?

Maybe - He was a highly rated recruit coming out of HS, and he seems to have a great basketball skillset - 6-7 body of a forward (can rebound, but doesn't really block shots often) with skill set of a PG/SG (can dribble, drive, pass, shoot, create, generate some steals) - so I'm not comfortable saying his current play is his absolute ceiling, potential wise.

But I absolutely LOVE the fact that we will have the opportunity to find out, while he is still playing in a Syracuse jersey, since we have another season after this one with G. Excited to sit back & watch.

 

[br801]

He has ever had another point forward like him? I know Melo can handle the ball, but G does so much more than any other forward I can recall.

Billy Owens says hi.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Billy Owens says hi.

There you go. Billy was more forward than point, but he's a good example.

 

[RF2044]

There you go. Billy was more forward than point, but he's a good example.

Billy was definitely a forward in terms of physique, but he definitely had a guard handle and was a phenomenal passer. Very underrated 'Cuse player [largely attributable to how his last season ended]. Tremendously versatile, very unselfish [always made the right pass], and despite that he could also be a go-to scorer.

Was he the first guy under JB to average 20 ppg?

 

[br801]

Billy was definitely a forward in terms of physique, but he definitely had a guard handle and was a phenomenal passer. Very underrated 'Cuse player [largely attributable to how his last season ended]. Tremendously versatile, very unselfish [always made the right pass], and despite that he could also be a go-to scorer.

Was he the first guy under JB to average 20 ppg?

I'm always amazed how underrated he seems to be considering his remarkable college career and very good NBA career.

 

[RF2044]

I'm always amazed how underrated he seems to be considering his remarkable college career and very good NBA career.

That Villanova loss in the first round of the BET, followed by our first round loss to Richmond, really hurt his legacy.

 

[Bayside44]

He has ever had another point forward like him? I know Melo can handle the ball, but G does so much more than any other forward I can recall.

Line forms behind Billy Owens.

 

[Oakland]

He'd be a great glue guy if we had any other scorers after Rak and TC.

G is more than a glue guy. Way more. He is going to be our most important and probably best player next year. He will get national attention.