Hayk Gyokchyan came to Franklin & Marshall from Beirut, via Conwell-Egan Catholic (near Philadelphia) and The Lawrenceville (N.J.) School.
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Since arriving, the freshman forward has gone from the rotation to the trainer's room to limbo.
And on Saturday night in Mayser Gym, his journey took another turn, as he supplied 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in a 92-53 rout of Juniata.
Sophomore point guard Georgio Milligan scored 23 points, including the 500th of his career, and junior forward James McNally generated 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Dips (3-1), who bounced back from Tuesday's 62-59 loss at Lebanon Valley.
Coach Glenn Robinson said that in the wake of that defeat, the focus in practice on Thursday — yes, Thanksgiving Day — and Friday was on ramping up the intensity.
"We didn't attack against Lebanon Valley the way we usually do, and the way we wanted to," he said.
Moreover, he said, "You can't take plays off."
F&M used an early 20-5 run to break a 7-7 tie and take command against the Eagles (3-2), and were never seriously challenged the rest of the way. Milligan scored nine of his points in that flurry, Gyokchyan five and McNally four.
"We're obviously very young, and they're obviously very good," said Juniata coach Greg Curley, whose 14-man roster includes six sophomores and five freshmen. "They just handled us."
Curley said he had very little read on Gyokchyan, but then again, neither did anyone else; he had played 16 minutes while appearing in two of the Dips' first three games, during which he scored two points and grabbed six boards.
Robinson said Gyokchyan had displayed some promise early in preseason drills, but was set back when he sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee during a scrimmage against Messiah, a week before the season opener.
In the meantime another freshman, Kevin Henry, emerged as the first big man off the bench, behind McNally and fellow junior Mike Baker. But Henry missed the LVC game with a shoulder injury, and sat out again Saturday.
Enter Gyokchyan.
"He took a giant step tonight," Robinson said.
It no doubt helped his confidence to make a 3-pointer from the left wing soon after entering the game, early in the first half. He added two stick-backs later in the half, then a pair of jumpers, a layup and two free throws after the break.
And overall he displayed a nice feel for the game — which perhaps stands to reason, since he played point guard until the age of 16 (and was accomplished enough to play for the national Under-18 team in his native land).
Growing to 6-8 led to a position change. But as Robinson said, "His skill set allows him to make plays a lot of postmen can't."
As for his knee, Gyokchyan claims it's no longer a factor, even though he wears a brace while playing.
"I'm not injured," he said. "I'm just hurt."
Gyokchyan, who spent two years at Conwell-Egan and a year at Lawrenceville, was recruited by some bigger schools, notably Lehigh and Bloomsburg. But he settled on F&M, he said, because he "found it to be the best fit for me."
"Everything," he added, "comes from the [offensive] system. It's not that different from how I used to play back home."
He showed Saturday just how well he might be able to fit in.
Notes: Steve Tolliver added 10 points for the Dips, and limited Jeff Berkey, the Eagles' leading scorer at 15.5 points a night, to three. … Alex Raymond, who came in averaging 14.3 points for Juniata, also managed three, largely against Milligan's defense. … Dan Sekulski led the Eagles with 13.
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