COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.– When Harry Giles first showed up at USA Basketball’s U17 final tryouts in the spring of 2014, no one knew he had a chance to be the best player ever to come through this elite youth development program.
Giles missed the entire 2013-2014 season with a devastating knee injury and was still regaining the mobility and vertical leap that had been his trade mark.
After two and a half days, the team was cut down to 16 players. Sean Ford, USA Basketball’s representative for the US Senior National team, was given a sheet to read off to those players who survived the cut.
“I was going down the list and I inadvertently passed over his name,” Ford said. “He started to get up to pick up his airline ticket home when someone from the selection committee got up and told him to sit back down.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
The versatile 6-10 rising senior at Wesleyan Christian Academy in Winston Salem, N.C.
has not only turned into the best prospect in the Class of 2016, but he could be the best NBA prospect regardless of age. Giles just turned 17 and like 6-11, 260 pound center Jahlil Okafor and forward Justice Winslow– who led Duke to a national title as freshmen and played up as 17s on the 2013 U19 gold medal team– he will be the most important piece, playing up on a US team that could have as many as three other players from the 2014 U17 world championship team– 6-8 forward Jayson Tatum of Chaminade College Prep in St. Louis, 6-7 wing Josh Jackson of Prolific, Calif. Prep and 6-6 guard Terrance Ferguson, who played for Prime Prep, Tex. Academy last year– playing key roles in this seven game tournament against older club players from traditional European powers like Croatia, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Greece and Turkey, U17 runner up Australia and Canada.
“We’re blessed to play with older guys who are older than us, who are bigger strong, got a year of college under their belt,” Giles said. “But we can’t let that affect us because next year, we’re going to be doing the same thing. Anybody can get to the NBA. It don’t matter how old you are. You are in the same pool.”
This is the youngest U19 team that America have ever sent to the Worlds. And it is the toughest competition for this country. The U16 and U17 have never lost under Don Showalter. But the talent pool gets winnowed down at U17 because many of the incoming freshmen who are eligible opt to get an early start on their college careers by going to summer school on campus so they can play pick up games against their future teammates and many of the college freshman don’t quality under U19 age rules.
When the US U19s won in Prague in 2013, they had two players– forward Jarnell Stokes of Tennessee and guard Elfrid Payton from Louisiana Lafayette– who were entering their junior year in college. This team doesn’t have anyone with that type of experience, but they have young prodigies and length at every position.
Giles should help offset that. He is the whole package and can play all five positions on the court. He helped led Wesleyan to the 2013 NCISAA Class 3A state title as a freshman when he played with North Carolina recruit Theo Pinson.
But there was a time when his future was in jeopardy. Giles, who played with UNC guard Theo Pinson and helped lead his team to a 2013 North Carolina state championship as a freshman, suffered a devastating knee surgery that summer playing for the U16s in the FIBA Americas tournament in Uruguay. He missed his entire sophomore season but recovered in time to become the best rising star on the U17 gold medal team in Dubai.
His game has just taken off since then. Giles averaged 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assist and 2 blocks a game as a junior when his team finished state runner up and has cut his choices to Duke, Carolina, Wake, Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio State, UNLV and Syracuse. Tatum, one of his closest friends on the team and a player Giles has competed against since he was 10-years old, also has Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and hometown St. Louis on his list.
If the two attend the same college, they could have the same impact as center Okafor, point guard Tyus Jones and Winslow — all USA Basketball kids– did at Duke. Some coaches feel if Giles was eligible for the NBA draft this year, he might well be the No. 1 pick.
Giles has been engendering those type of comparisons ever since he was in eighth grade, playing from Chris Paul’s CPIII EBYL team. Paul, who is also from the Winston Salem area, played for Wake. The two have become good friends and play pick up ball together against the pros and ex college stars in the city every summer. “He’s from the neighborhood. I know his family. We talk all the time,” Giles admitted. “He’s like a big brother. He called to see how I was doing. He’s in Caribbean on vacation but he just wanted to check in.
”He’s a great leader. Just looking, seeing what he’s doing, seeing him do things people said he couldn’t do, it’s amazing. It’s motivated me to work hard and do the same thing he does.”
When USA Basketball felt Giles wasn’t rehabbing as often as he should, they called Paul– who played on the 2012 Olympic team and should be on the 2016 team– and asked for his help. “Don’t worry,” Paul said. “I got this covered.”
Giles has since become a workout warrior. “I’m 100 percent now,” he said. “I work hard. I’m in the gym at 5:30 every morning.” He also been heavily influenced by his father Harry, who played football and basketball at Winston-Salem State University and had a couple NFL tryouts. Harry tried football. He was a prototypical wide out and right end, much like LeBron James when he was younger, but gave the sport up to concentrate on basketball.
His skill level, vertical leap and ability to master every position on the court have been eye popping. Giles looked right at home in the gym during the trials. This is his fifth visit to the gym. He runs the floor effortlessly although he admits there are times when the mile high altitude prevents him from doing all the moves he wants with a 24-second shot clock.
But he has done enough to dominate the scrimmages out here in the mountains..
