Marcus Ginyard

Joseph Treutlein

Marcus Ginyard struggled here, not showing much consistent ability on the offensive end, being a sub-par three-point shooter and not having any noteworthy ball-handling abilities. He hit some spot-up shots and finished on some lay-ups in transition throughout the week, but all in all just may not bring enough to the table offensively to merit an NBA roster spot. His defense was very good as expected, however, but it appears to be an uphill battle for him if he's aiming for the NBA.

After starting every game last season for the Tar Heels, Ginyard will find himself on the bench for the first few weeks of the season after undergoing surgery a little over a week ago. The surgery was to repair a stress fracture in his left foot that plagued the senior last season, even forcing Ginyard to wear a boot on that foot at times. Despite the pain, though, the swingman proved to be invaluable to UNC, seeing time at every position except for center and proving to be the team’s top on ball defender.

At first glance, Ginyard appears to be a tad undersized for the wing position, but he makes up for it with excellent length and a solid 220 pound frame. He is a great athlete, but still a very raw basketball player, tending to rely on his physical attributes to get by on the offensive end. Ginyard has both very good open floor speed as well as a great first step when in the half court set. The only concern with his athleticism is a lack of explosive leaping from a standstill, he seems to need a full head of steam before he can really elevate; this shows up in his perimeter shooting.

Offensively, Ginyard reminds of Houston Rocket D.J. Strawberry in that he is most dangerous in transition when he can get out and run. He is fast enough to beat most defenders up the floor with or without the ball, and while his body control is good enough that he can finish most of his shot attempts, he sometimes makes poor decisions when he doesn’t have numbers in his favor. Ginyard’s ball-handling skills are adequate at best, he doesn’t try to do that much offensively, so the majority of his turnovers last season came from trying to force tough passes on the break.

In the half court set, Ginyard becomes more limited and predictable in his scoring abilities. He isn’t much of a threat to shoot from the perimeter, having attempted just 30 three-pointers last season, and his shot is too flat footed at this point to be consistent. His form overall is pretty strong, but when he is forced to shoot off the dribble his mechanics deteriorate considerably. As one would expect of a player with a limited skill-set like Ginyard, he is fairly restricted in what he is able to do offensively—since he cannot shot off the dribble he is almost always going to go straight to the rack when he puts the ball on the floor.

Ginyard does a lot of the little things that make him an appealing player regardless of his shooting prowess, or lack thereof. He moves very well off the ball, often winding up with easy looks around the rim thanks to his ability to read defenses and make the necessary cuts to get himself open. He is also an excellent offensive rebounder for a perimeter player, averaging nearly two per game last season thanks to his length and hustle inside.

Defense is where Ginyard really earns his keep with North Carolina, proving to be their top on ball defender. He has good lateral quickness and instincts, often drawing the opposing team’s top perimeter player as an assignment. His length certainly helps him on this end, as do his quick hands. While Ginyard may have only averaged one steal per game last season, he was responsible for deflecting countless more passes that resulted in turnovers.

At this point, Ginyard is a long shot at best to make it to the NBA. He has the second worst scoring rate of anyone in our database that will be playing this season; he just simply isn’t a major scoring threat. In addition, he needs to improve his turnover ratio, as last season he turned the ball over roughly once every four possessions. Improving his perimeter shooting would go a long way to helping Ginyard’s stock, as being a lock-down defender will probably not be enough to get him a job in the NBA (just ask Jackie Manuel). With North Carolina sporting so many weapons though, don’t expect to see him getting too many more touches this season than he did last year.