Syracuse Basketball vs. Pittsburgh: 5 Takeaways

Dec 30, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Syracuse Orange forward Michael Gbinije (0) dribbles the ball against Pittsburgh Panthers forward Jamel Artis (1) during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Gbinije Needs to be More Assertive

Michael Gbinije is the leader of this team. He’s the best player by a wide margin and he’s the only player on this roster that is even close to NBA ready. The problem is, he just isn’t aggressive enough.

There are large parts of many games this season where he completely disappears. He becomes far too passive with the ball in his hands and defers to others rather than taking the shots himself. He needs to be assertive and take the ball to the hoop far more than he does.

I can’t tell you how many times over the past few weeks I’ve been yelling at the TV as I’m watching. “Shoot it Gbinije!” or “Drive the ball to the hoop!” are mantras I’ve repeated so often that I’m surprised my wife hasn’t slapped me.

A big part of the problem here is the lack of movement on offense. Far too many players are just standing around. A lot of that has to do with the completely boring offense that Syracuse runs, as I have mentioned before. They run a whopping one play almost all game. It’s not creative, and it doesn’t scare defenses anymore.

It also makes it very hard for our guards to get into the lane because opposing defenses have figured out that the only thing we really do is set screens for the guards and try to shoot 3’s or drive to the basket through traffic. Teams have adjusted, and it’s definitely hurt players like Gbinije who rely on good spacing to get open looks.