Michael Gbinije has committed to transfer to Syracuse.

Gbinije played one season at Duke while receiving limited playing time.

Gbinije played with Syracuse freshmen Rakeem Christmas and Michael Carter-Williams in the 2011 Jordan Brand Classic. He also knew Trevor Cooney from the 2010 Nike Global Challenge.

Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski have known each other for years, with the former assisting the latter on the Olympic teams.

“They talked to each other about me,’’ Gbinije said. “Coach K’s a really good person. He gave a good word for me.’’

Michael Gbinije has received interest from VCU, Marquette, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Villanova and Rutgers.

Gbinije opted to transfer after averaging 1.7 points and 0.8 rebounds during his freshman season at Duke.

The 6-foot-6 swinman was a top-30 prospect in the class of 2011.

Amile Jefferson hopes to make his final decision by next week.

“It’s been tough,” Jefferson said. “We’re trying to set a date now. Hopefully by next week, I can finally make a decision…I need that comfort level, when I just know.”

Jefferson is considering Kentucky, Duke, Ohio State, North Carolina State and Villanova.

Duke has extended an offer to Austin Nichols, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward out of Memphis Briarcrest Christian School.

"It was a dream come true," Nichols said of the offer from Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Yet, I am totally neutral. I've had an extremely fun time with all this recruiting, and the first thing I got in my head when he said 'scholarship' was that it was a dream."

Nichols is considering offers from Memphis, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, Vanderbilt, and Texas, among others.

Allerik Freeman, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard, received a scholarship offer on Monday from Duke.

Freeman has expanded his list of possible college destinations to include the Kansas, Villanova, UCLA and Ohio State.

Duke guard Andre Dawkins, who has one year of eligibility remaining, could be a redshirt candidate for next season, the school announced Thursday.

Dawkins closed the season mired in a difficult shooting slump, hitting only 3 of his final 23 shots.

A 6-foot-4 guard, Dawkins averaged 8.4 points and 2.1 rebounds.

Jabari Parker wants to narrow his extensive list to a final five later this spring. Parker is considering offers from Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and Illinois, among others.

The 6-foot-8 forward led Chicago Simeon High to 33-1 record and a third straight state championship this past season.

He has one more state title than Simeon alum Derrick Rose, with one season to go.

"He's good, a polished player to be so young," says Rose, who gets to keep an eye on Parker while he leads his hometown Chicago Bulls. "Has the will to win, and that's all you need."

Tyus Jones, the top rated point guard in the class of 2014, is keeping tabs on the job status of Minnesota coach Tubby Smith.

Smith's current contract ends a year before Jones would be a college freshman.

"I definitely take that into consideration," said Jones. "With me still having a (couple) years left in high school, I definitely look at it if certain coaches will still be there, still have the same job or retire. But I know I can't control it."

Jones is believed to be considering Michigan State and Duke, with Minnesota in third place.

"It's too early to have a favorite or be ready to make a commitment," Jones said. "But it's different this year with teams because I have a better relationship with the coach, since I've been talking to them and know them more personally now than before."

Allerik Freeman has expanded his list of potential college destinations to include Duke, UCLA, and Ohio State.

“Like most kids he had a change of heart and added UCLA and Ohio State,” Freeman’s high school coach, Ty Baumgardner said.

“Just in the last couple of weeks, Duke has shown some interest. Coach [Chris] Collins and Al have had some communication through email. Word is Coach K is going to watch him this weekend.”

Freeman, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard out of Charlotte, NC., is also considering Villanova and Kansas.

Mike Krzyzewski shared his thoughts on early entrants and the state of college basketball.

“First of all college basketball doesn’t control college basketball,” Krzyzewski said when asked what he would do to fix the college game. “The NBA controls college basketball. They are the ones along with the players union that sets the rule. College basketball just reacts to what the NBA does to include the early entry date. College basketball put out April 10th. Well that date doesn’t mean anything. April 29th is when guys have a chance to put their names in the NBA draft.

“I think one of the main things that has to happen is college basketball has to have a relationship with the NBA. There should be someone in charge of college basketball who on a day-to-day basis sets an agenda for our great sport. We don’t have anything like that. As a result we don’t have a voice with the NBA or the players union, and that’s just kind of sad.”

Krzyzewski admitted to not recruiting players who are likely to enter the draft after one year in college.

“Yeah we can’t go after every one-and-done guy because a lot of the guys and they are great players and great kids, but school isn’t as important,” Krzyzewski said. “A lot of those guys a number of years ago didn’t have to go to college. Dwight Howard. Kobe Bryant. LeBron James. Kids are…it’s not even going one year. They are going to spend maybe six-seven months. Sometimes…we have a great school, but it’s not as attractive as going someplace else, so we have to be careful with who we get involved with because it could be a monumental waste of time for us.”