Jim Boeheim hasn’t been pleased with Michael Gbinije’s play through Syracuse’s first five games, and he didn’t hold any punches after Syracuse beat Loyola on Tuesday night.

“Somehow we got to get Mike to play better, that’s paramount in my mind thinking about this team,” Boeheim, SU’s head coach, said of the junior forward. “Right now he’s, I don’t know where he is, he’s just not effective at all. That’s not something we envisioned going into this year.”

Against the Greyhounds (2-3), Gbinije collected two points, three rebounds, one assist, two steals and two turnovers in 20 minutes off the bench, as the Orange (4-1) shook a slow start in an eventual 70-37 win in the Carrier Dome. He went 1-for-4 from the field and missed both of his 3-point attempts, and questions about Syracuse’s depth prompted Boeheim to come down hard on the 6-foot-7 Gbinije, who plays three positions, including backup point guard, for SU.

Boeheim said he’d prefer to play freshman forward Chris McCullough instead of sophomore Chinonso Obokoh in place of Rakeem Christmas at center, but can’t do so unless his forwards play better. He also brought up Gbinije while discussing the Orange’s top-heavy box scores, where Christmas and McCullough have shouldered a large share of the scoring load.

“Mike’s a big piece to our team, he’s a guy who can come in and play all three positions, he’s a guy that can shoot it and get to the basket,” SU guard Trevor Cooney said. “Yeah, we have to get him going and when he gets going we’re a better team.

“At times last year he got going we were a better team. This year when he gets going we are a better team. He’s a person we got to get going and just get him into the groove of the game.”

Gbinije was in and out of the locker room after the Loyola game, but his teammates — as well as Boeheim — said that juggling multiple positions shouldn’t affect his game.

Syracuse freshman point guard Kaleb Joseph also played 37 minutes, leaving Gbinije just three minutes at point guard and 17 others at his forward spot.

On the season, Gbinije is shooting 33 percent from the field and just 2-of-13 from 3. He also has an even assist-to-turnover ratio with six each, and his next shot to find a rhythm will be against Holy Cross at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome on Friday night.

“He’s certainly capable of being able to do that and it’s important for us,” Boeheim said. “For this team, for him to get going, there’s not question about that. I’d say that could be the most important thing right now.”

Published on November 26, 2014 at 1:50 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse