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Former Duke forward Michael Gbinije commits to Syracuse

MichaelGbinije

While on a visit to Syracuse last night, former Duke forward Michael Gbinije committed to play for Jim Boeheim and the Orange, multiple outlets are now reporting.

The 6-7 Gbinije got few minutes in his freshman season with the Blue Devils, averaging 1.8 points and 0.9 rebounds per game in just under six minutes per contest.

Coming out of high school, Gbinije was a Top 30 recruit, coming to Duke in the same recruiting class as NBA-bound guard Austin Rivers. He was a Jordan Brand All-American in his senior season.

Most amazingly for Gbinije, Syracuse is--get this-- the sixth school in six years for the Virginia native, and is moving away from a situation at Duke where he may have been competing for minutes with redshirt freshman Alex Murphy next season.

Duke missed out on blue-chip prospect Shabazz Muhammad this month, as Muhammad opted to play for Ben Howland at UCLA, and is now squarely focused on Friend’s Central (Pa.) forward Amile Jefferson. Jefferson is built similarly to Gbinije, at 6-7.

For Syracuse, the ties to the Washington D.C. and Virginia area remain strong. As Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com points out, Gbinije joins incoming freshman Jerami Grant at Syracuse.

Gbinije will have to sit out a year, as per NCAA rules, and is scheduled to be eligible to begin the 2013-14 season.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_