Senior Isiah Binstock does grunt work while quietly averaging double-double

• Isiah Binstock

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Dickinson Trinity senior forward Isiah Binstock puts up for a shot against Richardton-Taylor defends on Feb. 5 at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.

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Dickinson Trinity senior Isiah Binstock is self-sufficient on the basketball court.

Most plays go through him, but only few are run with him as the primary option to score.

Instead, the 6-foot-3 forward gets many of his points through hard-work beneath the basket.

“The thing I like is he does all the grunt work,” Trinity head coach Gregg Grinsteinner said. “When you have a kid like that, he doesn’t need to shoot the ball. He’ll get his on the offensive end. That’s why he’s averaging a double-double right now.”

Binstock is averaging 11.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game as the No. 3-ranked Titans head into the postseason.

His ability to generate second-chance points from offensive rebounds has been the difference for the Titans early in games this season.

“It’s a big role,” Binstock said. “We can get a lot of second-chance points off of our misses. That creates a lot more pressure for their defense.”

Binstock not only crashes the boards, he’s a big guy with the ability to move with the basketball.

If he gets the ball on the perimeter, Binstock has the ability to put it on the floor and drive the lane.

As a player who checks in at about 200 pounds and is a bit more physically imposing than many of his peers, it’s usually an unsuspected move.

“One thing he’s added to his game is he can beat you off the bounce,” Grinsteinner said. “Anytime you have a post kid who can do that and is that strong, that’s an added dimension to your offense.”

Binstock smiles when talking about his use as a ball-handler.

“I always take a lot of pride in that,” he said. “Nobody really expects me to do that. In practice, I like to show them up a little bit. I can dribble the ball a little bit.”

Despite all he can do on the court, Trinity senior Jacob Good said he believes Binstock is one of Region 7’s most underrated players and that his inside presence may be second to none among his peers.

“He’s just so strong,” Good said. “When he gets the ball down low, he can manhandle just about everybody.”

Though Trinity relies on balanced scoring beyond all-state senior guard Jacob Volk, who leads the team with 19.9 points per game, there have been many times when Binstock and senior center Jesse Kubik have sparked the offense first in order to free up Volk and the rest of Trinity’s perimeter players.

Binstock has been held to single digits in just six games this season and has scored at least six points in every game.

Defensively, Grinsteinner said Binstock has slowly taken on more of a role as well.

“He brings so much energy,” Grinsteinner said. “Now, he’s kind of become an enforcer, where teams come in and he’s challenging every shot. We told him that he needs to do that and I think it’s important to do that.”

Trinity (18-1) has the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the District 14 Tournament and faces either No. 3 seed Hazen or No. 6 seed Glen Ullin-Hebron at 6:30 p.m. MST Saturday in the tournament semifinals.

Grinsteinner knows that Binstock holds one of the keys if the Titans are going to go anywhere in the postseason. In their case, it’s not about just winning the district tournament or even the region tournament.

The only place Trinity will be happy winding up is at the Minot State Dome for the Class B state tournament the second weekend of March.

“We need to bring high energy like we did against Watford,” Binstock said, referring to last Friday’s 74-25 victory over Watford City. “If we do that, then I think we’ll be on the right track.”

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