Coach Mike Montgomery has said several times in recent weeks that freshman Jorge Gutierrez, recruited as a combo guard, is being allowed to play solely at shooting guard right now so he’s not faced with learning two positions at once.

Juniors Nikola Knezevic and Nican Robinson, a walk-on, have shared the job backing up starter Jerome Randle.

But with a little more than 5 minutes left in the first half of Tuesday night’s 87-74 win over USF, Randle was resting on the bench and it was Gutierrez running the point.

Gutierrez wound up playing 18 minutes and contributing six points, three assists and three rebounds. Most of his time on the floor was spent at shooting guard.

But with Randle gobbling up minutes (he’s averaged 34 per game so far), there hasn’t been much opportunity for Knezevic or Robinson. Knezevic played four minutes Tuesday, Robinson not at all. Against Pacific in the opener, Robinson was the first sub off the bench at point guard.

“It’s something that’s kind of up for grabs, frankly,” Montgomery said Monday. “That whole rotation substitution thing is not clearcut, it’s not black and white. There’s a lot of gray there. We agonize a lot over who gives us the best chance to win. And it could change from game to game.

 ”Not that that’s what any of us want, but it’s not a perfect world.”

 Montgomery said Robinson and Knezevic each have something different to offer. 

“Nican’s a real floor leader. He’s talking, he’s confident, he knows what’s supposed to be done, and we like that,” he said. “Nikola is a better defender against a bigger player.”

Randle said both players have been a big help to him in practice.

“I really give Nican a lot of credit. He really makes me work a lot. He’s a great defender. Even though he fouls a lot in practice, I feel like he’s really preparing me for what goes on in the games,” Randle said. ”(Nikola is) more of a hacker as well. They’re great.

“I think those guys get me better. Any progress you see, I give those guys credit for it because they help me out.”

We won’t be surprised if Gutierrez’s transition to point guard continues a gradual evolution. The reality is Randle is going to play a lion’s share of the minutes, at least for the foreseeable future.

“Jerome’s pretty important to us right now,” Montgomery said. “He’s a guy who can make plays. I don’t want to wear somebody down to the extent that they’re worn out at the end of the season. But right now we’ve got to try to win some games.”