New Trio Could Push 'Cuse.  

By: Mike Lindsley 



The Rakeem Christmas, Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije trio is developing into the key to the 2014-2015 Syracuse basketball season. Think about it. 



Rakeem Christmas is the ultimate inside weapon and really SU’s only inside guy who can man the 2-3 zone defense at the 5 spot and is the go-to-guy by default for inside scoring on a team that lacks consistent offense. 



Trevor Cooney, an upper classman like Christmas, is the team’s best shooter and probably overall player. Cooney can do more than shoot from the 3-point arc, as he has shown the last month. He has a solid basketball IQ, passes and cuts, gets to the basket and creates points by going to the free throw line. When he plays this way, he also gets more shots because of movement which is good. It can get him into a rhythm. And when Cooney hits more 3-point shots, SU is a different team. 



The wild card is the third player. “Silent G.” Also known with by the real name of Michael Gbinije. Gbinije is a perfect fit for basketball today. Slick, smooth, inside, outside. He can shoot or dunk or run the floor or hit a mid-range jumper. 6-7. 200 pounds. But why he is so important to Syracuse is for Cooney to have a helper in shooting the 3-ball and also for the freshman point guard Kaleb Joseph, who is erratic most of the time. If Gbinije keeps defenses honest by shooting more 3’s and helping Cooney, plus scoring in general around the floor, the rest of the dominoes fall, including the one that relaxes Joseph and gives him confidence to set-up the offense with another offensive weapon. And frankly, this helps Christmas too, because defenses will have to come out on SU more from the outside and respect the 3-point shot. The Orange then can play a little high-low at times by giving the ball to Rak one-on-one. Then it is a shooting option for the big fella or back outside for a relatively open jump shot if things work out correctly. 



Rak-Cooney-Silent G. The key trio to reach March for the Orange.