Michael Patrick Gbinije grew up in Chester, Virginia, a suburb of Richmond, with a name nobody at first knew how to pronounce. It is Nigerian Igbo, and the G is silent — Buh-NEE-jay. He has answered to "Silent G" since he was a kid, and he has made peace with it, even embraced it. At Syracuse they would later call him "Swaggy G" too. Both nicknames fit.
His father Frank had arrived in the United States from Nigeria in 1982 to study engineering at Temple University on a soccer scholarship. Frank was talented enough to become an All-American soccer player at Temple and went on to a career as a civil engineer, moving the family around the country for construction projects. Michael's mother Yvette met Frank at Temple and raised Michael alongside his siblings as the family moved. Michael himself, born June 5, 1992 — where exactly is disputed among sources, with Duke listing Chester, Virginia and some databases listing Hartford, Connecticut — settled with his family in central Virginia by the time he started playing serious basketball.
He played at four different Virginia schools before he finished high school. Eighth grade: Thomas Dale High's junior varsity team. Freshman year: Evangel Christian School, where he helped win the VISAA Division III state title. Then to Christchurch School, an Episcopal boarding school on the Rappahannock River. Finally to Benedictine High School in Richmond, the Catholic military academy, where as a senior he averaged 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists per game, won the 2011 VISAA Division I state championship, was named Virginia All-Metro Player of the Year by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and earned a spot in the Jordan Brand All-American Classic. Rivals had him #28 nationally in the 2011 class. Scout had him #26. 247Sports gave him a five-star composite grade.
He could have gone to any ACC program on the East Coast. Duke came in hard and got the commitment. On signing day, Gbinije was a Blue Devil.
Then he walked onto Coach K's campus in the summer of 2011, and everything went wrong.