Coach, Mike Gordon led Binghamton with 18 points in the first exhibition game against Mansfield, shooting 7-for-9 from the field. Obviously Mansfield wasn’t very tough competition, but Gordon only averaged 3.0 points per game last year. Even when his playing time picked up during the conference season he still only averaged 3.8 ppg. We know Mike is a very good defender and can run the floor well, but how important is Mike’s scoring to BU’s success this year?

Mike Gordon’s job is first and foremost to create offensive opportunities for his teammates, but he has been working on his jump shot and he’s been working on his ability to drive the ball. I’m really not sure how many points we expect Mike to average, and how many points we need him to score in order to be successful … again his foremost job is to make sure that other guys on the floor are getting good looks. In the practice environment, he’s doing very well as a scorer right now.

Were you disappointed that he took so many shots the other night?

Oh, absolutely not. When the opportunities present themselves, especially in transition going to the rim or inside-out opportunities, those are great opportunities for anyone on the floor.