Michael Gbinije

[CharlestonDave]

I travel a lot and very rarely post on this Board and maybe this has been answered previously and if so please accept my apologies.

How is it or how was it that Michael Gbinije who is the leading scorer for Syracuse and looks like their go to guy, couldn't find playing time at Duke ? It is not like he transferred to North Dakota State or The University of Idaho, Syracuse is one of the top basketball programs .

Did he just get a lot better under Jim Boeheim? Coach K recruited him so he saw something he liked a lot as a high schooler.

Thank you.

[kAzE]

I think we all knew Silent G had potential, he just wasn't very good when we had him. He was terrible his first season at Syracuse, too. It took him until last year (what would have been his senior year at Duke) to really become an impact player, so it's not like he was ever going to be more than a role player for Duke. Who knows if we even get Justise Winslow if Gbinijie was tabbed as the presumptive starter at the 3 last year?

Give him credit, he's worked hard and become a really nice player, and he probably made a good move for his career. I doubt he keeps playing THIS well for the whole year though. These numbers aren't sustainable. He's taken these early season teams by surprise. Let's see how he does once ACC defenses are scheming to stop him. Glad to see he's doing well, but I hope we absolutely crush him and his team when they play us.

[lotusland]

It's hard to say what was silent G was thinking but IIRC , he was privately considering a transfer when the rumor broke and sort of forced his hand. 2011-12 was not a great yr aside from the last second AR dagger at UNC. Seth was supposed to play PG allowing AR to play the 2 spot. When that experiment failed we had Cook/Thornton at PG, Seth at the 2 and AR on the wing with Dawkins coming off the bench. We actually needed a big athletic 2/3 guy to add some size to the backcourt off the bench - especially on defense- but he could never really crack the rotation. Still I think if Seth had held on to the PG spot with AR getting most of his minutes at the 2 and QC/Tyler mostly just splitting backup PG minutes, then G would have played more on the wing. Murphy actually burned his red-shirt year along with MP3. IIRC, G transferred out before Hood transferred in. Also I think It was not known yet that Dre would not play the following year at that time. Certainly he didn't know that Murphy would transfer the following year. Just an all around bad vibe following the Lehigh debacle as I recall.

I remember SG as solidly built, 6'7, athletic and defensive minded wing player who could even play a stretch 4 type position in a small lineup. Seems like quite a transformation to the thin combo guard type player he is today. He will probably be one most successful transfers from Duke and possibly the first NBA guy. Either way congrats to him and best of luck!

[Troublemaker]

How is it or how was it that Michael Gbinije who is the leading scorer for Syracuse and looks like their go to guy, couldn't find playing time at Duke ? It is not like he transferred to North Dakota State or The University of Idaho, Syracuse is one of the top basketball programs .

Did he just get a lot better under Jim Boeheim? Coach K recruited him so he saw something he liked a lot as a high schooler.



I think we all knew Silent G had potential, he just wasn't very good when we had him. He was terrible his first season at Syracuse, too. It took him until last year (what would have been his senior year at Duke) to really become an impact player,

Yep. Gbinije just wasn't very good early in his career. Even after sitting out his transfer year, he only averaged 3.4 ppg in 14.6 mpg at Syracuse his sophomore season (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/56115/michael-gbinije). Boeheim definitely did a good job developing Gbinije further, but that could've happened at Duke, too. Check out the progress of our own Matt Jones (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/66563/matt-jones), for example, and he has one more season to go.

[Indoor66]

Yep. Gbinije just wasn't very good early in his career. Even after sitting out his transfer year, he only averaged 3.4 ppg in 14.6 mpg at Syracuse his sophomore season (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/56115/michael-gbinije). Boeheim definitely did a good job developing Gbinije further, but that could've happened at Duke, too. Check out the progress of our own Matt Jones (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/66563/matt-jones), for example, and he has one more season to go.

Matt Jones is not a very good comparable. Jones had defensive chops from day one. Silent G, not so much. He wanted to have the ball in his hands and did not have the defensive capabilities to justify that usage.

[dukelifer]

I travel a lot and very rarely post on this Board and maybe this has been answered previously and if so please accept my apologies.

How is it or how was it that Michael Gbinije who is the leading scorer for Syracuse and looks like their go to guy, couldn't find playing time at Duke ? It is not like he transferred to North Dakota State or The University of Idaho, Syracuse is one of the top basketball programs .

Did he just get a lot better under Jim Boeheim? Coach K recruited him so he saw something he liked a lot as a high schooler.

Thank you.

Gbinije is 23 and clearly benefited from the transfer. He is playing a role he probably would not have played at Duke. He showed some flashes of talent- but Duke has many talented players and many in the hopper and sometimes it is hard to stand out there.

[Troublemaker]

Matt Jones is not a very good comparable. Jones had defensive chops from day one. Silent G, not so much. He wanted to have the ball in his hands and did not have the defensive capabilities to justify that usage.

I'm not arguing that their games are similar. I am saying that Matt, like Gbinije, is a wing that did not play much his freshman year and has developed into a very good starter for Duke that even plays some caretaker PG right now. If Gbinije had been more patient, I think something similar could have occurred for him (assuming Duke would've recruited differently at wing had he stayed on.)

[Olympic Fan]

Gbinije could have played as a freshman, if he'd been willing to embrace the defensive stopper role that the staff asked him to play. He was a big, athletic wing who could have played a significant role on a team that ended up wa-a-a-y too small on the perimeter.

But he wouldn't accept that role. He wanted to be a scorer. He gave an interview not too long ago that when he came to Duke, he saw himself as a one-and-done player. He was nowhere near that skill level as a freshman ... or as a redshirt sophomore or as a redshirt junior. Actually, he might be drafted as a redshirt senior if he continues to play this well.

[miramar]

Gbinije could have played as a freshman, if he'd been willing to embrace the defensive stopper role that the staff asked him to play. He was a big, athletic wing who could have played a significant role on a team that ended up wa-a-a-y too small on the perimeter.

But he wouldn't accept that role. He wanted to be a scorer. He gave an interview not too long ago that when he came to Duke, he saw himself as a one-and-done player. He was nowhere near that skill level as a freshman ... or as a redshirt sophomore or as a redshirt junior. Actually, he might be drafted as a redshirt senior if he continues to play this well.

Wow, that's a bit of a shock. I can understand guys leaving if they won't get the chance to play, but it's a real shame when someone doesn't take full advantage of the opportunities he has at Duke. But at least he's made the most of his second go around.

[COYS]

I feel like this is a clear situation where things worked out for both sides. Mike G apparently had to be humbled a bit before he could make big strides (as was mentioned above, he played only 14 mpg as a redshirt sophomore when he would have been a junior at Duke). Meanwhile, Duke went on to reach the Elite 8 Mike's would be sophomore season and then win the title in his would-be senior year. He would've already graduated by this year. I think he could have developed well at Duke, too. But he didn't want to wait. That's fine. Some guys need a change of scenery before they figure things out. It seems like Both Mike and Duke got what was best for them.

[uh_no]

Syracuse is a top program, sure, but they're also down right now...there's no chance syracuse is anywhere as talented as duke has been this year and last.

He might have cracked the rotation, but to pretend that he would be great if he were here is assuming an awful lot. Remember that despite having him play at syracuse last year, we still beat them twice....Maybe if he beats duke back this year, I'll reconsider.

[Dev11]

He will probably be one most successful transfers from Duke and possibly the first NBA guy. Either way congrats to him and best of luck!

Elliot Williams got some NBA time after transferring to Memphis.