It sure seems like Coach K is doing his best impression of Kevin Garnett and preparing for war. Last week, his squad beat the living daylights out of “rival” North Carolina in Cameron. On Thursday night, victory came in the form of a verbal commitment from Michael Gbinije, a five star small forward prospect in the Class of 2011.

Among the other schools in consideration for the 14^th ranked overall prospect and 4^th ranked SF (from Scout.com) were North Carolina, Syracuse, Villanova, Virginia, and Wake Forest.

Gbinije is Duke’s best wing prospect since Kyle Singler pledged his allegiance to Pantone 287 back in 2006. He is the elite wing that Coach K and the staff have been looking to acquire ever since Prince Harry gesticulated his way to North Carolina. Armed with a polished offensive game, a pretty jumper, a penchant for getting into the lane, and an awesome last name to boot, Gbinije could very well be a prime time player at Duke.

Gbinije’s commitment came just days after he visited campus and attended the Carolina game in Cameron. He was also in Durham when the Devils played Maryland at home, which happened to be Coach K’s 1000th game and 63rd birthday. The raucous environment at both of those occasions may have been enough to get Gbinije to pull the trigger in favor of the Devils.

As a native of Richmond, VA, Gbinije joins commits Tyler Thornton and Josh Hairston as well as current players Andre Dawkins and Nolan Smith as Blue Devils from the D.C, Maryland, and Virginia area. This region has produced a plethora of talent in recent years, from Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley to Duke’s very own “Nasty” Nate James. So it’s not surprising in the least that Coach James, who has been on everywhere on the recruiting trail, landed his first official prospect in Gbinije.

It’s been a while since we’ve been able celebrate a commit, but we’ve got a feeling a few more are on the way. Stay with us as this month looks to be an exciting one for Duke basketball. Here’s to the Devils romping through the ACC Tournament and making this March one to remember.

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You can check out some of Gbinije’s highlights from last July at the Nike Peach Jam below.