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For nearly all of Harry Giles' recruitment, the belief has been that the five-star power forward would be a one-and-done college player who would become a star in his lone collegiate season.
Giles is projected as one of the top pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, and it looked like he would be going to a program that gets one-and-done guys routinely drafted at or near the top of drafts. Duke and Kentucky are believed to be Giles' finalists, and the Blue Devils have been viewed as the favorites for much of his recruitment.
Giles was originally set to announce his college decision on Nov. 14 at the Phenom National Showcase in North Carolina, but that was before he suffered an injury during a game this week. Sadly, it's being reported that Giles suffered a torn ACL, his second of his high school career.
Unfortunately the news leaking out regarding Harry Giles, Scout's No. 1 recruit, partially tearing his other ACL is true, per sources.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) November 5, 2015
Harry Giles tore his ACL & MCL just over 2 years ago. He bounced back & looked 100% this summer. Favorite for No. 1 pick in 2017 draft.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) November 5, 2015
Harry Giles has a "slight small tear" in his right ACL, source tells @SNYtv. Story coming
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) November 5, 2015
This is just terrible news, and you never want to see anyone go through this, let alone a high school kid with the world ahead of him. Giles, the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2016, had already torn his left ACL during high school and made a full recovery. ACL recovery takes around 6-9 months.
Kentucky is familiar with this process as senior forward Alex Poythress is completing his road back from last December's ACL tear. He's still not 100% and is coming off the bench for the Wildcats in their exhibition games and likely early regular-season games.
Giles was set to announce his college decision within the next week, but that probably will change with this latest news. Still, Giles is an immensely gifted player who can go wherever he wants, even with this latest setback. The good news is he'll have a full year to rehab and recover before his first college game would be played.
Hopefully, Giles overcomes this and goes on to reach all of his goals in both college and the NBA.