Kaleb Joseph called a play and Michael Gbinije had to rack through his brain before making his next move.

In the first half Gbinije replaced Joseph for six minutes and brought the ball up as Syracuse’s 6-foot-7 backup point guard. Early in the second he went back to his natural wing spot, where he’s regularly found.

But now Joseph was signaling for an offensive set and Gbinije — as a pseudo power forward — had to blend into his third position of the game.

“I’m trying to remember, ‘OK, what’s the forward do?’” Gbinije said after Syracuse’s 65-47 win over Hampton on Sunday afternoon. “At least I was on the court, I’m happy about that, it was a little strange. I wasn’t prepared for it but I just worked with it.”

With Chris McCullough in foul trouble and Tyler Roberson not matching up well against the Pirates’ (0-2) zone, Gbinije played the four in a small lineup that helped the No. 23 Orange (2-0) beat Hampton in the Carrier Dome on Sunday. He proved more effective in that role than he was as a point guard in the first half. An 0-for-3 start gave way to a productive second in which Joseph played all 20 minutes.

After the break, Gbinije shot 3-of-5 from the floor for eight of his nine points and made two big plays that helped Syracuse stave off an early-season upset.

“I feel like the second half (Gbinije) made those big plays, big for his confidence,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “He can score, he’s been scoring, he’s capable of scoring and that’s important for us and for him. We need another guy that can score and I think he can do that.”

Gbinije was absent from Syracuse’s season-opening win over Friday, which Boeheim said was due to “team stuff” and not an injury. Gbinije said after the game that it was because of something that happened over the summer and that he wanted to “leave it at that.”

After checking in for Joseph with 15:39 left in the first half, Gbinije missed an open 3 on his first possession, before picking up two quick fouls and heading to the bench five minutes later.

The first foul gave Hampton’s Deron Powers a three-point play on an up-and-under, and the second came a second after Gbinije was stripped by Powers at half court while slowly bringing the ball upcourt.

He came into the season saying he’s much more confident at point guard than he was last season, but Gbinije didn’t look comfortable on the court until he was running next to Joseph instead of in place of him.

“I did feel a whole lot more aggressive in the second half,” Gbinije said. “It’s two different responsibilities for two different positions.”

While his first half was focused on setting up the Syracuse offense, Gbinije’s 17 second-half minutes were committed to sparking it.

He worked the ball to shooters Trevor Cooney and B.J. Johnson out of the high post — a spot he said reminds him of high school — and turned and swished a jumper from the top of the key to give the Orange a nine-point cushion with 14:39 to play.

Ten minutes later, Gbinije gathered a loose ball with the shot clock winding down and hit a turnaround jumper through contact. He hit the ensuing free throw to complete a three-point play.

With just over a minute left in the game he hit a 3 from the right wing before throwing his hands below his knees and loafing back on defense like an airplane on cruise control.

Gbinije’s versatility allowed him to play three positions in 23 minutes, the last of which helped bury the Pirates’ comeback bid. But his overall performance showed that his production could be hampered when he’s the one handling the ball.

Said Joseph: “From the wing, he can score with the best of them.”

Published on November 16, 2014 at 8:25 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse