Almost a week after losing swingman Jayson Tatum when he declared for the NBA Draft, the Blue Devils will now say good-bye to his close friend Harry Giles.
Giles announced his decision to join Tatum in June's NBA Draft on Twitter and in a press release through the team Tuesday afternoon. He is currently projected as a mid-to late first-round pick by most draft experts following a rocky freshman season and will be the team's ninth one-and-done player since 2011. According to multiple reports, Giles is expected to hire an agent.
HG. NBA next. #TheBrotherhood forever. pic.twitter.com/CQRBbm3iks
— Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 28, 2017
“With his uplifting personality and love for the game, Harry Giles has been a joy to coach,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in the release. “He is only beginning to scratch the surface of how good he can be on the basketball court. Harry has an exciting NBA future ahead of him and we are here to fully support him as a member of our brotherhood.”
As was the case with Tatum, Giles’ season started with his own injury scare as the freshman underwent left knee arthroscopy Oct. 3 and did not take the floor for Duke until Dec. 19.
But after sitting out nearly a year and a half dating back to his right ACL tear during his senior season of high school, Giles was a work in progress for the Blue Devils and struggled to showcase the same skillset that made him the top-ranked recruit in the country. The freshman finished his Duke career averaging just 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game.
“Playing in the NBA has been my goal for as long as I can remember, and I’m so excited to take the next step in that journey,” Giles said in the release. “My time at Duke has been a dream come true. I’ve built so many strong relationships here and I have so many people to thank, from my teammates and coaches to our medical staff and strength coach. I can’t understate how proud I am to be part of the Duke basketball program forever.”
Giles enters the NBA draft as one of the biggest question marks among players expected to be selected in the first round. Although some teams will have a tough time getting past Giles’ bouts with foul trouble and difficulty on defense, others remain intrigued by the athleticism the Winston-Salem, N.C., native showed catching alley-oops and soaring high for rebounds near the end of his college career.
With the announcement, the Blue Devils have now lost four of the seven rotation players that they relied on toward the end of the season in Tatum, Giles, Matt Jones and Amile Jefferson, in addition to Chase Jeter and Sean Obi to transfers. Duke will now wait for the NBA decisions of sophomore Luke Kennard and junior Grayson Allen to determine just how much production it will have to replace in the offseason.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.