NBA Draft prospect series: Harry Giles

In this review of the Thunderous Intentions Draft Prospect Series we look over Duke’s Harry Giles, a player that be a potential All-Star for the OKC Thunder if he can stay healthy.

Going into 2016 Harry Giles was tied for the first spot in multiple high school recruiting lists. Giles, however, couldn’t hit the court for the first eleven games because of a knee injury; even after that he was still a bench player for Duke. That’s not exactly what you may hope for in what was arguably the best high school player the previous year.

Specs

Age: 19

Height: 6′ 11″

Wingspan: 7’3 

Weight: 240 lbs

Position: Power Forward

School: Duke Blue Devils

Stats

Points per game (PPG): 3.9

Rebounds per game (RPG): 3.8

Blocks Per Game (BPG): 0.7

Minutes Per Game (MPG): 11.5

Rankings

Draft Express: 33rd Overall

The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor: 31st Overall

CBS Sports: 16th Overall

Notable Achievements

• Ranked as the consensus No. 1 overall recruit in the 2016 high school class by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index
• Rated the No. 1 overall recruit in the class by ESPN, as well as No. 2 overall by Rivals, Scout and 247 Sports
• Named to the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic but was unable to participate due to injury
• Earned inclusion on the 2016 Louisville Courier-Journal Super Five first team despite missing his senior season due to injury

• Owns three gold medals as a member of the USA Basketball program: 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship, 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship and 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship

Via: GoDuke.com

Strengths

The positives to Giles is he is smooth in the post and has great athleticism. He stands at 6’11 and has over seven feet of arm length to match. Pair this with the defensive coaching in the NBA and the former Blue Devil has potential to grow into an overall star.

Another upside to his length is his ability to crash the glass. Giles was always ready to pounce up for a put back on offense and he grabbed defensive boards with ferocity. The big man was never hesitant to jump up with anyone to scrap for the rebound.

It is hard to shine when you have many great players on your team and you are coming off an early season injury. We didn’t get to see a lot of what Giles could do in his time at Duke, so you can’t get the full grasp of the true upside Giles can bring to any team that needs a big man. He won’t start right away, but expect the former #1 high-school recruit to grind out the chip on his shoulder.

Weaknesses

Giles major weakness is one thing: health. It happens all the time – an unbelievable talent gets an early injury and never seems to get back to being his regular freakish self. This could very well be the case for Giles.

Related Story: Jonah Bolden prospect preview

Another one of his major faults is his free throw percentage. It sat at a measly 58.2 percent in his tenure at Duke. Poor shooting at the line can make his post play irrelevant as defenders may just foul him with knowledge he will miss at least one.

Though he can grab alley oops and look like Tim Duncan when cleaning the boards, that’s about all he’s got going for him. We never really saw him shoot anything other than hook shots, and some of the shots he did take seemed very forced and off-balance.

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Though he has some of the upside you like to see in a NBA prospect, Giles also has the potential to be a flat-out bust. Ultimately he’s a very high risk pick that could play both sides of the spectrum in the future.

The Fit

The potential of Harry Giles coming to the Thunder is very real. Sam Presti seems to enjoy putting stock in big men, and we could see it this year. A huge trade to someone like the Knicks, who need a big man to play along side Porzingis, can leave Oklahoma City without Enes Kanter or Steven Adams.

Presti loves to keep his team young, and what better way to do that other than picking up players in the Draft. Trading off a big time center means you need one in return. Already invested in Domantas Sabonis, the Thunder could pick up Giles and run a three-man rotation at the four and five spots (if Taj Gibson doesn’t resign). Giles would bring great rebounding and athleticism to the team, but with a team needing shooters, it wouldn’t be the best need-based acquisition.