Mike Gbinije. How high do your feel his potential is???

[Trueblue25]

You answered your own question. He does not have a defined role, and never excelled at any one thing. Glue guy, who hopefully can average 10 ppg.

He's clearly a 2 or 3 but was forced to play the one. He has a set position, but due to utter lack of depth was forced to play outside his comfort zone.

 

[orangefan13]

Not saying this is right, but as the season rolled along I sort of got the feeling he is much better pulling up off the dribble from the middle of the court. Hope that extends to the corners more, or he will be better used only as a guard.

I also felt he was getting by forwards easier off the dribble, but that was against limited pressure. Part of it could be he is still getting used to responding to the help defense. He does well in the physicality of the game though, and has the muscle to.

 

[IthacaMatt]

gbinije is a versatile player that can sort of play 3 positions. he doesn't have a skill set that is clearly defined, he has good size but he is not a + athlete. i think his future will be determined by intangibles. he will be one of the oldest players on the team next year, can he have an andy rautins like effect? can he make clutch shots? if he can be a leader and show high bball IQ, he could be a fantastic "bridge" player for this group if you will. but in theory he will have to outplay younger more talented players.

I agree. He's very much a Howard Triche kind of player. His dribble drive works best from the wing, when he is in the offense as a forward. He has a harder time getting by guards on the dribble. He also needs more confidence in his outside shot.

 

[newmexicuse]

Well, lets look at his game:

As a 3 - can't rebound

As a 2 - can't create (or make) his own shot unless wide open

As a 1 - doesn't have the handle

Summation - I'll buy into glue guy.

And don't take his post as a knock on G - glue guys are important to the overall success of a team.

 

[Ghost]

Well, lets look at his game:

As a 3 - can't rebound

As a 2 - can't create (or make) his own shot unless wide open

As a 1 - doesn't have the handle

Summation - I'll buy into glue guy.

And don't take his post as a knock on G - glue guys are important to the overall success of a team.

Yeah, this would sum up my thoughts on his play this year. He lacks the athleticism to ever really open up the rest of his game. Just not explosive and will be our glue guy going forward. Probably 5-10 PPG from here on, with an occasional big game or two thrown in just to rile us all up on the forum.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Well, lets look at his game:

As a 3 - can't rebound

As a 2 - can't create (or make) his own shot unless wide open

As a 1 - doesn't have the handle

Summation - I'll buy into glue guy.

And don't take his post as a knock on G - glue guys are important to the overall success of a team.

Agreed. I would be thrilled with 8 pts/4 reb/3 asts type of numbers.

 

[SU_Fan_in_VA]

Some people are going to be pleasantly surprized and many will say he has improved leaps and bounds. Gbinije is at his best when the team relies on him to produce and he will.

 

[Trueblue25]

Some people are going to be pleasantly surprized and many will say he has improved leaps and bounds. Gbinije is at his best when the team relies on him to produce and he will.

Aka the Duke and Dayton games. Those spurts were impressive. If those weren't flashes of potential idk what is.

 

[rrlbees]

Aka the Duke and Dayton games. Those spurts were impressive. If those weren't flashes of potential idk what is.

With that way of thinking, based on the ND game, Cooney will be Steve Kerr.

 

[SoBristol]

With that way of thinking, based on the ND game, Cooney will be Steve Kerr.

The difference is that Cooney was a starter -- so we saw what he can do over the course of a season.
Whereas Gbinije was a spare part.
Sometimes spare parts show year over year improvement as they earn a much larger role. Example -- Cooney.

And, if you don't see Gbinije making big improvement in his skills as he settles in with a much bigger role (along with a few others), why be optimistic about 2014-15?

 

[orangefan13]

I think Mike Gbinijes best potential at the college level as a 5th year senior could be at sf (imo). I know its going against the grain, but asking him to get better one on one off the dribble at sg is asking to much.

Comparing him to Kris Joseph, I can see him being alittle better one on one, and better with a dribble drive in the lane off motion then senior kris joseph. His pullup does thrive best from the middle of the court though.
It still remains to be seen if he will be able to develop a left and right isolation dribble from that postion over time. If he learns to take his defender both directions from there, that could be key (but not the only possible way) to raise his scoring potential. Similar to a poor mans mcw/lebron james up top.


I also think his muscle tone has higher strength potential then roberson/bj/mccullough/lydon/malachi by 015, and that could make him a decent rebounder at forward. He also is in a postion where he can work his butt off while on the court. He doesn't have to hog minutes as a senior and he knows it. He could be more mentally built for a constant motor then a guy like paul harris.

Lacking seniors this year outside of Rak, got to be excited for the prospect of two 5th year seniors in 015 And both are hard workers on the court, so that bodes well in practice. I can only imagine their leadership potential as 5th year seniors.