Harry Giles' forgettable debut is a reminder he needs time to regain his past form
The loudest roar at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday night was not for a soaring dunk, a powerful blocked shot or a deep 3-pointer.
It came after the crown jewel of Duke’s 2016 recruiting class finally stripped off his warmups for the first time all season.
Fans throughout the venerable arena stood, craned their necks and applauded as Harry Giles rose from the bench and checked in with just under 12 minutes left in the first half of Duke’s 65-55 victory over Tennessee State. Even Duke’s social media czar couldn’t resist adding to the fanfare, sending out a tweet with Giles’ picture accompanied by the words, “It’s time.”
The electric atmosphere provided a perfect platform for Giles to show off a skill set that has drawn comparisons to Chris Webber, but the 6-foot-10 forward isn’t ready to deliver that sort of performance just yet.
Giles logged only four minutes, badly missing a mid-range jumper on his initial possession of the game and moving cautiously throughout the rest of his brief stint on the floor. He only attempted the one shot and did not record a single rebound or assist before returning to the Duke bench for good after the first half’s third media timeout.
The quiet debut from Giles is reminder that Duke must be patient with its prized freshman. It will take Giles a long time to shake the rust off after a 413-day layoff and regain confidence in his surgically repaired knees.
Giles underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Oct. 3 and sat out the first six weeks of the season. That is the same knee in which Giles tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus prior to his sophomore year in high school.
Although Giles returned from his original injury to reclaim his status as the top prospect in the 2016 class, his comeback was derailed last fall when he tore the ACL in his other knee and had to sit out his entire senior season of high school. The 6-foot-10 forward had expressed hope of being ready in time for Duke’s Nov. 11 season opener prior to his October surgery.
Even though talent-laden Duke has won all but a single game without Giles so far this season, the preseason No. 1 Blue Devils can be even better if their most heralded freshman regains his previous form. A healthy Giles would be among the leading contenders to be selected No. 1 overall in next June’s NBA draft thanks to his ferocity on the glass and explosiveness around the rim.
Giles’ decision to try to play for Duke this season is high-risk, high-reward. A strong second half of the season could cement Giles as a top-five pick, but questions about his health might cause him to slide out of the lottery if he lacks his former explosiveness or reinjures one of his knees.
It’s possible Giles might have played more on Monday night had Duke put away upset-minded Tennessee State a little sooner. The Tigers actually led by two early in the second half until Luke Kennard spearheaded a 25-3 Duke surge that put the Blue Devils in control.
Kennard finished with 24 points including back-to-back transition 3-pointers to help spark the game-changing run. Freshman Jayson Tatum added 14 points and Grayson Allen scored 12 on just seven shots.
There will undoubtedly come a time when Giles makes contributions like those, but Monday was not that night.
On this night, it was a victory that Giles even removed his warmups, proved the doubters wrong and at last made his long-awaited Duke debut.
More college basketball content from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
