Stan Van Gundy thinks Michael Gbinije can become a high-end perimeter defender, but the first few days of a rookie’s maiden training camp isn’t the place it’s likely to show.

“He’s got great defensive potential, I think,” Van Gundy said. “Right now, in terms of the way we play situations and things, he doesn’t have that – even a little.”

Van Gundy said similar things about the other rookie, first-round pick Henry Ellenson. “There’s time’s where his head’s just spinning right now.”

To help Gbinije get up to speed, Van Gundy has decided he won’t give the rookie any time at point guard. Actually, that decision was made after Summer League, when Gbinije’s ankle injury limited him to one game. The Pistons signed Ray McCallum Jr. to compete with Lorenzo Brown for the No. 3 point guard spot and told Gbinije to focus on the wing positions, small forward and shooting guard.

Gbinije will get a chance at point guard somewhere down the road – perhaps later in the season with the D-League’s Grand Rapids Drive, Van Gundy said – but for now, he admits, it’s somewhat of a relief to home in on learning the wing assignments.

“Yeah, it is. I can just focus on one position at a time,” Gbinije said. “I’m sure the more comfortable I get, I might experience other positions. But right now, it’s good that I’m just limited.”

Gbinije spent his freshman year at Duke, then one redshirt season followed by three years at Syracuse. The nearly 3½-hour practice he experienced Wednesday was something he hadn’t endured since his days under Mike Krzyzewski.

“At Syracuse, we really didn’t practice this intense or that long. So besides my freshman year, I haven’t really experienced anything like this, to tell the truth.”

The Pistons picked Gbinije 49th overall in June, Van Gundy saying at the time that they had him rated as a first-round pick. Pistons staffers felt the only thing that knocked Gbinije down to late in the second round was, in effect, age discrimation. At 24, Gbinije is older than Andre Drummond, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Tobias Harris. The rap is that there’s little growth potential with such players. Van Gundy scoffs at that assessment. Gbinije is still an NBA rookie experiencing everything for the first time, but chances are his learning curve will be less severe than the average first-year player.

“He’s a guy who sees the floor well and makes good plays,” Van Gundy said. “I think right now, just let him play that spot and let him learn it and everything else.”

Besides the sprained ankle suffered in the practice following Gbinije’s first Summer League game in early July – an injury that revealed a bone chip in his ankle and persuaded the Pistons to idle him for a few weeks – Gbinije became ill during his time in Brazil as a member of the Nigerian national team. He isn’t even sure what caused his sickness – “it might’ve been food poisoning” – but it contributed to a less-than-intoxicating Olympic experience.

“I did not enjoy it, to be honest,” he said. “One, we were losing; two, I got sick.”

He did get to meet his Pistons teammate, Aron Baynes, who helped carry Australia to the medal found, and got a taste of Rio’s culture. But he was happy to get to Auburn Hills on a healthy ankle and begin his NBA assimilation.

If the Pistons remain healthy, it’s probable Gbinije will spend most winter nights in street clothes, inactive, at Pistons games or making the circuit in the D-League with the Drive. He’s behind Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock and Darrun Hilliard in the pecking order at shooting guard with just as daunting a depth chart at small forward, where Johnson, Bullock, Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris would all get the nod before Gbinije.

But the Pistons believe he belongs – and so does Gbinije, despite the information overload of the first days of training camp.

“I do feel I belong. It’s tough being a rookie because you’ve got expectations you’ve got to learn and you’ve got chores to do on and off the court for others,” he said. “I do feel comfortable, honestly. It’s just a matter of sticking with it.”