It’s safe to see the past week, we have seen something special from Duke Freshman, Harry Giles. Giles hasn’t played a significant amount of minutes for the Blue Devils, but when he does, the game changes.
Giles is coming back from a hell of an injury. He’s had to convince his dad to let him play this year, and it safe to say that not only for the sake of his confidence, but his NBA stock. It’s no secret that Giles is a first round pick despite his injuries, but what I think NBA GM’s get a chance to see is a kid who wants to be a leader and a teammate and risking everything for the chance to do that. Harry might not be at his full capacity for Duke right now, but the little he does have in him, he leaves it on the court.
During team press conference, Coach K and teammates, Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen, sung high praises for the freshman.
Coach K: It’s interesting. Harry said his cousin was going to be out in the audience. Thank you for asking about him. Harry, the last two games, has been terrific. I mean, his rebounding, and he had four blocked shots. But the energy — you know, these guys give energy, and Harry — you know, Harry is coming off of some really bad injuries. He’s still — you know, a year from now will probably get it. And he’s put it all out there. When our guys have seen that, it’s been a lift. It’s been a huge lift for us. So we’re getting better. I said it even when we lost to Syracuse and Miami by one possession each game, that our team’s getting better. We just are getting better. And these two guys and Jayson, when they’re on the court, those three guys, when they’re sharing it and scoring, it’s a potent offensive unit. Not a big unit, these guys are guarding big guys and whatever, but a big — and it’s where Harry’s contribution is coming in.
Grayson Allen: Basically, every time I’ve talked to Harry, I just told him that he’s really good, and it doesn’t matter if he’s coming off the bench, if he’s in the game for two, three, four minutes. I think he can play with whoever’s out there, whoever he’s going up against. So I told him that. I said, you might be playing limited minutes. You might feel like a role player, but you’re not. You’re extremely talented, and when you get out there, act like it. Don’t be shy. Don’t be trying to play into a role. Do what you can do.
Harry wants to play. Harry wants to be at Duke. Harry wants to be their teammate. Harry wants to be a college kid and be on Duke’s team.
As the season and tournament progresses, you’ll be sure to see Harry become more confident and become the player we need he could be. Coach K and his team are becoming increasingly dangerous with their confidence meter on high. The team plays the winner of the ND vs FSU game… either way, I think Duke wins.