Malachi Richardson and Michael Gbinije were both invited to the NBA Draft Combine. On Day One, Gbinije chose to play in the 5-on-5 games, performing well.
Former Syracuse Orange guard Michael Gbinije scored 13 points in his scrimmage on Thursday at the NBA Draft Combine. He started for "Blue Team" which came up just short, losing to the "White Team" by a score of 96-93.
Gbinije shot 4-7 overall from the field, and 2-3 from 3-point land. In typical Gbinije fashion, he filled the stat sheet recording two assists, three steals, three rebounds, and committed two turnovers in of 27 minutes of play. Gbinije performed well from the free-throw line, one of his biggest weaknesses at Syracuse.
In the scrimmage, Gbinije played some point guard and was also seen playing shooting guard. He started the game and was in during crunch time.
ESPN's Fran Fraschilla and Jay Bilas had this to say about Gbinije:
Said Fraschilla,"He's an ideal second-round player." "He can play right now," Bilas cited Gbinije's maturity. Bilas finished his assessment stating,"No question (he) can play on the offensive end."
Gbinije would likely be a bench player in the NBA, but it will be interesting to see if he can find his place in the league.
Gbinije was on a team with four guys that Syracuse played against this year. His teammates included, Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer, Virginia's Malcolm Brogdon, Connecticut's Daniel Hamilton, and Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes. Some other notable teammates of Gbinije were, Oakland's Kay Felder, Iowa State's Georges Niang, and Oregon State's Gay Payton II.
Malachi Richardson chose to sit out of the 5-on-5 scrimmages due to a back injury. He still performed in measurements and conducted interviews.
