Despite tearing his ACL, MCL and meniscus in his left knee two summers ago, Harry Giles has risen to the No. 1 player in the 2016 college basketball recruiting class.
The 6-foot-10 forward from Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point, N.C., is the clear-cut choice for the top prospect label this season. On Monday, Giles put the college hoop world on notice by making his official visit list, well, official.
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Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports first reported that Giles had trimmed his official visit list to five schools, and will begin to make his official visits during the month of September.
Harry Giles will visit Wake Forest on 9/19, UNC on 9/25, Kansas on 10/10, UK on 10/16 and Duke on 10/31, his father told @CBSSports.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 17, 2015
There’s probably two things that are quite noticeable about Giles’ visit list:
- Out of the five schools on the list, three are located within Giles’ home state of North Carolina (Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest).
- Duke gets the last shot at getting Giles to commit on Halloween this year, which could seal the deal on Giles ending up in Durham.
Personally, Giles’ visit list looks like the schools he’s interested in, with Wake Forest having the least interest and Duke having the most. Obviously, John Calipari and the Kentucky staff will be quite convincing on Oct. 16 for “Big Blue Madness” in Lexington. Kansas will have a nice say also on Oct. 10 for “Late Night in the Phog.”
Also, this note from Kentucky recruiting insider Ben Roberts makes Giles’ recruiting process even more interesting:
Note that all 5 of Harry Giles' official visits will take place before early signing period. Told me last month he'd prefer to commit early.
— Ben Roberts (@BenRobertsHL) August 17, 2015
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After all of that being said, where will Harry Giles end up? Let’s take a look at the five contenders for Giles’ one year of service in the college game.
Wake Forest
Wake Forest head coach Danny Manning and the Demon Deacons are seemingly the odd men out in the Harry Giles equation, but don’t officially count out the Deacs just yet. Like I mentioned previously, Wake Forest is located in North Carolina (Giles’ home state) and sits only about a half hour from where Giles currently plays in High Point.
Recruiting is always a weird beast, so even though Wake Forest might not be a sexy school for Giles, you can count out a good recruiter like Manning out.
North Carolina
This year’s preseason favorite for the No. 1 ranking in the polls will have a star-studded cast led by Marcus Paige. Next season, however, could look entirely different for the Tar Heels. Paige, along with 6-foot-9 forward Brice Johnson will graduate, and the NBA could come calling for Kennedy Meeks, a junior that was a forgotten player in the Kentucky-dominant class of 2013.
Could Giles get Ol’ Roy off to a fast recruiting start for 2016? It’s doubtful, but it’s in play.
Kansas
In my opinion, this is the wild card of the whole Harry Giles equation. Giles will visit KU during their “Late Night in the Phog” midnight madness practice, and the Jayhawks sit in a similar spot that North Carolina will be sitting in for the 2016 class.
The Frank Mason III-Wayne Selden Jr. backcourt duo could head for the pro game, while Big XII Player of the Year candidate Perry Ellis will graduate after this season. Remember the Andrew Wiggins sweepstakes? Not many thought Kansas would glide in and scoop the No. 1 player in the nation for that class either.
Kentucky
Ball Durham
Does anybody really think that Kentucky isn’t high on Harry Giles’ list? It’s Kentucky, it’s the best “farm system” to the NBA in recent years, and it’s John Calipari. The Wildcats are as strong as anyone on this list to get Giles. But, the thing that’s always interesting when it comes to Kentucky: who will leave and who will stay?
Alex Poythress and Marcus Lee are the only upperclassmen that will see a good amount of playing time this season. Jamal Murray and Skal Labissiere are all but lottery picks in 2016. Calipari has already stated how much he loves the 2016 class. Giles could be a huge get for a potentially big-time Kentucky class in 2016.
Duke
I don’t think anyone would deny that the defending national champions are the favorites for Harry Giles. After getting a “package deal” with Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor last season, the Blue Devils could be getting the same with the top two players of the 2016 class in Giles and Jayson Tatum, who committed to Duke last week.
No disrespect to Jones and Okafor, who left Duke as champs, but if Duke gets Giles (which honestly, I think they will), that might put Duke over the top in terms of the best recruiting package to date. Not only did Tatum mention the two want to play together in college, Duke will get the last say in the matter on Oct. 31 when Giles will make his official visit to campus.
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