Michael Gbinije is used to shifting his vantage point.

After playing at Duke his freshman year, Gbinije transferred to Syracuse and joined the Orange’s rotation after sitting out the 2012–13 season. His 6-foot-7 frame has seen him bounce from the top to the wing of SU’s zone and all over its offense since the start of last year. While Syracuse used to consider his offensive production an added bonus, it now depends on it.

The forward may laugh about his ever-evolving game, but Gbinije’s ability to navigate his newest adaptation could be the difference for the Orange offense moving forward. Syracuse (14-5, 5-1 Atlantic Coast) — starting with Miami (12-5, 2-2) in the Carrier Dome at 4 p.m. on Saturday — is nearing the meat of its conference schedule and can’t afford any off performances from its versatile forward.

SU is asking Gbinije to frequently move from the wing to the point guard position and maintain a scoring mindset in the process. He has no other choice but to approach the challenge head on.

“The team needs me to score,” Gbinije said after Syracuse beat Boston College on Tuesday. “Whether I’m handling the ball or off the ball can’t matter. It’s an adjustment but not too much of one — just have to be able to see the floor in two different ways.”

At the onset of this season, Gbinije’s role wasn’t as defined.

SU head coach Jim Boeheim came down hard on the junior after a two-point performance against Loyola on Nov. 25. But at that time, he was also calling Gbinije a sixth man who “would get starter minutes.”

Freshman point guard Kaleb Joseph played more than 30 minutes in eight of Syracuse’s first 10 games and freshman forward Chris McCullough — who is out for the season with a torn ACL — scored in double-figures in the team’s first eight games.

With Joseph and McCullough adding to the offense early on, Gbinije wasn’t a primary scorer or playing point guard as often. But as the Orange’s depth unraveled at the start of ACC play, though, Gbinije’s responsibilities ballooned.

“There’s no question that we need Mike more and more every game,” Syracuse guard Trevor Cooney said after SU beat Wake Forest on Jan. 13. “When he’s playing point guard, he has to score and when he’s playing forward, he has to score.

“And he can — that’s Mike.”

It almost happened in conjunction — McCullough falling for the season and Joseph’s insufficiencies pushing the freshman point guard out of Boeheim’s crunch-time lineup.

With sophomore guard Ron Patterson barely producing when he replaces Joseph, Gbinije is bound to play point guard and wing in the same game and his output can’t dip as a result.

When SU called on Gbinije to play point guard last year, he had trouble with his ball-handling and decision-making. He gradually learned to see the floor as a point guard before SU turned him into one of its main scoring options. Against Wake Forest, Gbinije handled the ball for the last 21 minutes of game time and scored 16 points in the second half and overtime.

In SU’s 69-61 win over the Eagles on Tuesday, Gbinije scored 11 first-half points primarily playing point guard and six second-half points from the wing.

He went from facilitating and scoring in the opening frame to slashing and shooting as a forward in the second, and the transition was relatively seamless.

“It was a matter of finding the right spots as a point guard and getting used to that spot,” Gbinije said. “Now I’ve done that and gotten used to and it feels natural. I don’t even think about it mid-game when I have to switch positions on offense.”

It’s hard to believe that Gbinije — who has scored in double figures in Syracuse’s last six games — collected under 10 points in five of the Orange’s first eight contests. That includes three games with two points and one with four, and a four-game stretch without making a 3.

The current version of the Orange couldn’t stomach that kind of lull from Gbinije. It instead needs him to balance two different roles in his brain and a bulk of the team’s scoring load on his back.

Published on January 23, 2015 at 2:27 am

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse