Point Guard

[iommi]

I think we all agree that Tyler Ennis will play big minutes as our primary point guard. Assuming no foul trouble, he will probably have to play about 35 minutes most games.

Last year, Cooney didn't have to play PG much and when he did, he did not show much of a handle.

That leads to my question: when TE is on the bench, who is going to be our point guard? Will it be Silent G? Buss? Backup point guard by committee? Obviously, JB will use the pre-season practices to figure out roles and rotation. I think the August practices and Canadian games are going to be really helpful in this regard. We'll be able to get a glimpse of what we have. This is a reloading year, not a rebuilding year but questions like these abound.

 

[tee1222]

I think we all agree that Tyler Ennis will play big minutes as our primary point guard. Assuming no foul trouble, he will probably have to play about 35 minutes most games.

Last year, Cooney didn't have to play PG much and when he did, he did not show much of a handle.

That leads to my question: when TE is on the bench, who is going to be our point guard? Will it be Silent G? Buss? Backup point guard by committee? Obviously, JB will use the pre-season practices to figure out roles and rotation. I think the August practices and Canadian games are going to be really helpful in this regard. We'll be able to get a glimpse of what we have. This is a reloading year, not a rebuilding year but questions like these abound.

My guess is Gbinije.
Early recruiting info 0n Buss mentioned that he needed to work on his handle.
Cooney did not look great handling the ball, but you never know if one of these other two have made significant improvements.

Gbinije, from what I read, has handled the ball in practice.
Either way, one of these three has to tighten up a good deal as Ennis, especially early on, will have to get some breathers from time to time, and foul trouble might come into play.

An articles and quote from JB:
http://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/index.ssf/2013/04/meet_syracuses_michael_gbinije.html
“The nice thing with Michael is he gives us some flexibility,”
“We think he can play the two or the three and we played him in practice at the one just to get him used to that. You wouldn’t want him to play 20 minutes at point guard, but he could play there eight or 10 minutes very easily.”

From GMac:
“I think he’s so valuable because he can play multiple positions,” “He can impact the game in multiple areas.”

"McNamara should know. He was assigned the task this season of familiarizing Gbinije with the point guard position. With Brandon Triche and Michael Carter-Williams forming SU’s starting guard tandem, the Orange needed a point guard to pair with Trevor Cooney in scrimmage situations"

 

[cap2nine]

I feel that it will, at least early in the season, fall on G's shoulders. But, I think it will be subject to change as Cooney or Mike prove which is the better sharpshooter. Ideally we'd want the better of the two, from behind the arc, to stay in the 2 spot when Ennis is off the floor. TC clearly under-achieved and under-performed last year but I wouldn't under estimate his ability or dedication. I anticipate high marks from both Mike and Trevor this coming year, translating to one of the better backcourts in the nation by year's end.

 

[cuseinseattle]

Boeheim said in an interview last year that Silent G can handle the ball as point guard for 10 minutes a game but you probably wouldn't want to ask for more than that. I'm thinking that on average he does for about 8 minutes and Ennis does for 30 and Cooney for 2 minutes or something. I don't think Ennis is going to be asked to play 35 minutes a game. That is a ton. Who knows though.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Absolutely one of the really interesting things to watch for is who will check in when Ennis checks out.

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[iommi]

Absolutely one of the really interesting things to watch for is who will check in when Ennis checks out.

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Yeah, that was the question in my mind as well.

 

[cap2nine]

Although a little tangential from the original question I think it's worth mentioning that of the 3 (Ennis, Jumanji and TC), Ennis is likely the weakest defender. Of course we need to have capable floor-general on the court at all times but our team D should actually improve when Ennis needs a breather. As for Buss, I think his freshman year will see extremely limited minutes and he'll be strictly an emergency resource.

 

[orangefan13]

Mike should be able to abuse a 6'0 guard. They are two different types of shooters though.
Gbinije is a pullup shooter all the way that should translate to his 3 point shot some. Cooney is a spot up shooter all the way.
Trevor prefers to shoot from downtown on the right side of the court (PGs side). I also see Gbinije as a 12 plus ppg scorer this year he should be used to the scoring pressure. On the other hand it might be better for cooney to learn to discern and just take the ones he feels real confident about, as a PG that should cut the pressure down.

Big difference having Fair Dajuan Ennis and Gbinije out there. Gbinije will utilize a screen successfully more then triche and sotherland. And Fair and Dajuan can slow the ball down as halcourt isolation threats.
Wouldn't be suprised to see both out there and Gbinije playing pg in transition, while Cooney plays it in the halfcourt, as a entry pass kind of pg.

 

[General20]

An interesting question that hasn't been brought up is, who is the THIRD best ball handler. Ennis is going to be the point guard while on the court, I'd say that is a pretty safe bet, but when he is off the court I'm not so sure the burden of point guard will fall to a single player. It might very well be a team effort with all the best ball handlers who are not Ennis, in the game sharing duties while he is out.

I think its safe to say Gbinije will be one of those players. Whether the other is Patterson, Cooney, or someone else to me is an interesting question.

 

[orangefan13]

Also keep in mind Patterson(going left) and BJ(7 foot going right) both have a much stronger sidestep pullup then Ennis, Cooney, and Gbinije. In Fairness though we haven't seen Gbinije in 21/2 years, and Ennis hasn't needed one yet (he really should look into that as defenders are going to get taller faster and more athletic at this stage), That could give BJ and Ron some backup pg time if they can expose a defender one on one with that skill.