During Syracuse’s annual media day last October, head coach Quentin Hillsman offered a decree: The goal this season was to play “positionless basketball.” Players, ideally, would sprint up and down the floor, shoot countless 3-pointers and swarm the opposition in the Orange’s 2-3 zone.

Later that day, during player interviews, Amaya Finklea-Guity was asked if she fit that mold. The 6-foot-4 freshman center laughed and shrugged. She knew that she was the exception.

“I’m definitely going to be looking more for the rebounds,” Finklea-Guity said on Oct. 20. “… I’m more of a defensive player. I think I’ll help a lot on the defensive end. Personally, I’m trying to work on my offense more and get more touches, get open and post up.”

Fast-forward three months and Finklea-Guity has added a new dimension to Syracuse’s offense. Typically one of two players inside the arc, Finklea-Guity has free rein in the paint to, as she puts it, “bury” fellow post players and convert easy buckets. The freshman is adept with her back to the basket, a tool other scorers on SU don’t have.

In her last two games, she’s shown the ability to diversify the offense as teams scheme against the Orange’s top scorers Tiana Mangakahia and Miranda Drummond. Finklea-Guity scored 11 points and recorded a season-high three blocks against Miami on Jan. 18. It marked the first time in seven games that she reached double-digit points. She averages seven points per game and shoots at a 55.4-percent clip.

This past Sunday against Pittsburgh, she dropped 14 points and eight rebounds, her second-best single-game output in both categories.

Her last two performances earned her the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Week. It also displayed the potential that Syracuse (15-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast) will need her to actualize when it faces Clemson (11-9, 1-6) and its two 6-foot-2 starters Thursday night in the Carrier Dome and, after that, other higher-level conference teams.

“We’re trying to get more balance in our offense,” said Vonn Read, SU associate head coach. “We’re a perimeter-oriented team, we shoot a lot of 3s. You need to have some balance to throw the ball inside. She’s working in there, demanding the basketball and we got to get it to her. She’s had some pretty good games for us.”

Finklea-Guity’s uptick in production is a byproduct of opposing teams worrying about SU’s 3-point shooters. The Orange have shot 33.2 percent from 3 in seven conference games, topping its non-conference total of 28.8 percent. As more defenses press toward the 3-point line, they leave one forward, usually shorter than the 6-foot-4, in the paint to guard Finklea-Guity.

Recognizing this mismatched potential, Hillsman has started to call more plays for Finklea-Guity. Hillsman sometimes calls out from the sideline and instructs his guards to pass the ball in. Other instances, he calls for Finklea-Guity to be aggressive and to post her defender up.

When she hears Hillsman give her the green light, the freshman has to remind herself of the techniques that position coach Adeniyi Amadou has reinforced over extra practices throughout the season: Initiate contact, get as close to the rim as possible, don’t be afraid to use the left hand, and most importantly, be patient.

“I’ve worked a lot on my post moves.” Finklea-Guity said. “I do drills where a manager was behind my back and we’re going at them, setting ball screens and rolling to the paint and making sure we’re big and explosive.”

Whenever Finklea-Guity or forward Digna Strautmane sub out of a game, Amadou crouches in front of them and goes over schemes and assignments. When a timeout occurs, he meets them on the court to go over their positioning.

The constant instruction, Finklea-Guity said, is what she grew accustomed to playing for Noble and Greensborough (Massachusetts) High School and the New England Crusaders, a Nike sponsored AAU team. Since she was 14 years old, she worked with Crusaders’ coach Kim Benzan to “toughen her up.”

Benzan said they brought in women collegiate basketball players and high school boys to scrimmage against Finklea-Guity. She joined the guards in dribbling drills and played one-on-one against smaller teammates where she was forced to drive the lane. These practices cultivated her skill set, which led Hillsman in 2016 to call her “as fast as any high school post player he’s seen.”

Hillsman expects Finklea-Guity to adapt her talents to the college game since SU has no other options. The Orange has only three active players 6-foot-1 or taller: Drummond (6-foot-1), Strautmane (6-foot-2) and Finklea-Guity.

“For three years, we didn’t really have somebody that we can just pound the ball inside (to).” Read said. “Briana Day was more of a face-up post player, she was excellent in that. Now, we can throw the ball inside to (Finklea-Guity) and she can score. I think that’s the easiest basketball we can get. When a play breaks down, you can throw it inside and score four feet from the basket, she’s doing a very good job at that.”

Such a score occurred in the fourth quarter of the Orange’s 70-52 win over Pitt. Syracuse’s offense had gone stagnant, missing its first 11 field goals to start the frame. On one possession, with the shot clock ticking down, two Panther defenders swarmed Mangakahia. The guard then slung a no-look pass to Finklea-Guity in the post. The center grabbed the ball, spun right, finished over the top of a Panther defender and drew a foul.

With Syracuse’s recent issue of closing out conference games, specifically on the road, Finklea-Guity’s post presence offers SU a change-of-pace option and the opportunity to alleviate some of the pressure on their primary scorers.

“I think I’m more aggressive now,” Finklea-Guity said. “I’m starting, I feel, to push myself more and make sure that I’m being as aggressive as I can possibly be.”

Published on January 24, 2018 at 9:56 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez